Why do nondemocratic regimes promotee-participation? The case of Moscow's active citizen online voting platform

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Schlaufer, Caroline
• 署名单位: HSE University (National Research University Higher School of Economics)
• 刊物名称: GOVERNANCE-AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF POLICY ADMINISTRATION AND INSTITUTIONS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0952-1895
• DOI: 10.1111/gove.12531
• 发表日期: 2021
• 关键词: E-government; authoritarian regimes; autocracies; legitimacy; tool; democracies; diffusion; internet; RUSSIA

摘要

Citizen online participation has become an increasingly important feature of policymaking in nondemocratic regimes. This article explores the question of why nondemocratic governments promote e-participation tools. To address this question, this research examines the motives for the introduction of the Active Citizen e-voting platform in Moscow through an in-depth case study drawing on interviews and qualitative document analysis. The case study identifies a variety of objectives pursued by the Moscow city government with the promotion of e-participation and relates them to three legitimation strategies, namely, input-based legitimation, output-based legitimation and discourse-based legitimation. The results underscore how controlled e-participation may combine different legitimation strategies without challenging the distribution of decision-making power.