83: ANALYSIS: Aleksandar Matovski on Popular Dictatorships - electoral authoritarianism, Putin’s popularity, the utility of crisis, & domestic legitimation as a driver of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Aleksandar Matovski, Assistant Professor in the Department of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School, breaks down the internal function of 'Popular Dictatorships' - electoral autocracies - regimes in which authoritarian leaders need to maintain popular legitimacy to survive - and what this tells us about Putin, Russia and the war in Ukraine. Aleksandar outlines how Putin rose to power, how foreign crises intersect with Putin's popularity, and why we need to undertstand Russia's regime type in order to understand Putin's decision to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.  

“The domestic legitimation motive is actually much more consistent than the dominant geopolitical explanation for the war in Ukraine”

Aleksandar Matovski - Popular Dictatorships: Crises, Mass Opinion, and the rise of Electoral Authoritarianism

Follow Aleksandar on Twitter: @A_Matovski

For episode updates follow on Twitter: @jessicagenauer

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