Kabanov Yury

Electronic Authoritarianism: Institution of Electronic Participation in Non-Democratic Countries

The article analyzes the reasons why an institution of e-participation is so popular in non-democratic countries and what factors are conducive to its introduction. According to Yu.Kabanov’s conclusion, e-participation allows authoritarian rulers to accomplish a number of important domestic and foreign policy goals, e.g., providing internal and external legitimacy, monitoring public opinion, and increasing attractiveness for investments. The empirical research conducted by the author shows that among autocracies e-participation is most widely spread in the countries that are actively integrated into the global processes, possess considerable resources and efficient institutions, and use a variety of methods to “tame the Internet”. In contrast, in countries that lack sufficient incentives to follow the global trends and/or the necessary resources or find themselves in a state of political instability, such mechanisms of e-participation remain underdeveloped.

DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2016-83-4-36-55

Pirate Parties: Development Trends Worldwide

The article analyzes several development trends of pirate parties in cross-national perspective. The author studies dynamics of pirates’ political program and conducts a correlation analysis of factors that determine the degree of institutionalization of their organizations. According to Yu.Kabanov’s conclusion, in most cases pirate parties lack sufficient resources and often a desire to actively participate in the established party system. Neither popularity of their ideas nor their electoral results enjoy stability. However, one can already spot some potential growing points of pirate parties, especially in Europe. According to the author’s forecast, transformations of the pirate movement will continue to take place and will become decisive for its future development. The latter will largely hinge upon the final choice of pirate parties: whether to retain their radical, anti-elite positions or move toward the median voter and common policy.

DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2015-77-2-128-142