Andrew Wilson. Virtual Politics: Faking Democracy in the Post-Soviet World. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005. xviii, 332 p. Illustrations. Figures. Notes. Index. $40.00, cloth.Andrew Wilson's Virtual Politics: Faking Democracy in the Post Soviet World presents an exhaustive overview of various forms of chicanery and deceit that characterize politics throughout much of the post-Soviet region. Aside from meticulously exploring the "virtuality" of political developments in this part of the world, the author also challenges the basic foundations of extant post-Soviet research which applies a more traditional approach of treating political conflict as the reflection of competing societal interests. Critiquing this literature, Wilson argues that much of the public political manoeuvring in countries such as Russia, Ukraine and Belarus is mere theatre designed to confuse and deceive the electorate rather than to represent the interests and political preferences of real social actors. Throughout the book, Wilson presents a remarkably thorough effort to document the various schemes, tactics, technologies and projects that marked the past fifteen years of political developments in the region. While many of the political subterfuges detailed in the book are known to specialists in the region, Wilson's book is the first to systematically document these tactics and to elevate political technologists and other charlatans to a leading role in the region's political theatre.Wilson's often dense analysis is presented in eleven well-organized and carefully linked parts. Following a brief introduction which presents his main thesis, Wilson begins his exploration of virtual politics by demonstrating how factors specific to the Soviet experience provided fertile soil for the growth of modern virtual politics in the region. In Chapters Two and Three, Wilson details the bases of contemporary virtual politics and introduces political technologists as the primary playwrights in his virtual theatre. The bulk of the remaining text provides a tour of various strategies and tactics designed to distract the public, revamp the ruling elite's image, and neutralize real sources of resistance through nefarious tactics designed to discredit, divide and even (re)invent the opposition. Wilson concludes with a brief discussion of the limits of virtuality and the implications of virtuality for democratization efforts in the region.If Wilson's dire assessments are indeed valid, the study raises a number of important challenges for researchers and policy makers working with the region. First, how might one determine the scope of the virtual political world? Within his expansive discussion, which details the carefully scripted schemes of the region's political actors, Wilson includes a smattering of caveats indicating that not everything in the post-Soviet world is indeed "virtual." However, the absence of a serious examination of voting behaviour (an admittedly tall order given the author's main goals for the work) detracts from the ability to effectively determine the borders and scope of the virtual world. Having given pride of place to the virtual world and redirected attention to the extent and depth of political manipulation, scholars must now reintroduce the voter into this equation to help determine when virtuality rules the day and when social interests and actors can navigate through fog and achieve real political outcomes. …

Virtual Politics: Faking Democracy in the Post-Soviet World

Market as a Weapon: The Socio-Economic Machinery of Dominance in Russia

This article discusses three dimensions of creativity: metaphorical thinking; social interaction; and going beyond extrapolation in predictions. An overview of applications of neural networks in these three areas is offered. It is argued that the current reliance on the apparatus of statistical regression limits the scope of possibilities for neural networks in general, and in moving towards artificial creativity in particular. Artificial creativity may require revising some foundational principles on which neural networks are currently built.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2053951719839433

What are neural networks not good at? On artificial creativity:

Based on 6 months of fieldwork and conducting 9 sets of observation in Ghana, this thesis explores the effects of the different corruption experiences upon confidence in the police as well as police legitimacy Since Tyler published his seminal work Why People Obey the Law, legitimacy and confidence in the criminal justice system has become an important concept in criminological analysis Various studies have sought to clarify the meaning of legitimacy and to examine the factors that influence public perceptions of police legitimacy and confidence Studies have emphasized the importance of procedural justice, distributive
justice, and effectiveness of legal institutions What remains under-researched in criminological discourse however, is the effects of police corruption upon public confidence and police legitimacy

An important exception is Tankebe’s (2010a) and Asif, Bradford and Zakar’s (2014) study Yet both construct their study on a simple distinction between direct and indirect experiences of public corruption with the police This overlooks the fact that there could be different types of direct and vicarious experiences (eg negative and positive experiences), with different effects on confidence and legitimacy This study addresses these issues by examining the effects of both perceptions and different experiences of public-police corruption in Ghana The research is focused on the experiences of corruption at the street level Data was obtained from the police and retired police
officers, commercial drivers, and private entrepreneurs (market traders) These actors encounter the police more often than any other, and that their expectations in corrupt encounters are conflicting For example, while some members of the public condemn police corruption at police checkpoints, others, or the same people, in turn criticise and get infuriated at commercial drivers for failing to pay bribes to the police resulting in, for instance, unnecessary journey delays The impact of these experiences on citizens’ perceptions of police legitimacy and confidence in the Ghanaian police are discussed

Implications of the Different Experiences of Corruption on Police Confidence and Legitimacy in Ghana: An Exploratory Study.

Several state-supported digital vigilante groups emerged in Russia at the downturn of the pro-Kremlin youth group Nashi (Ours), when its former commissars formed issuespecific movements to counter perceived legal and moral offences through exposure of targets on social media. One of such groups is StopXam (Stop a Douchebag), specializing in road-traffic and parking violations. StopXam participants confront the drivers and retaliate by placing stickers that read “I spit on everyone I drive where I want” on the targets’ windshields. The retaliation is often accompanied by verbal and physical fighting; the process is filmed, edited, and shared on YouTube, receiving millions of views. While digital media made such practices possible, traditional broadcasters maintain significance in rendering meaning to the phenomenon of vigilantism and in framing vigilantes, their targets, police, and other actors. As the existing literature on digital vigilantism is predominantly focused on digital media affordances, this article aims to address this gap through a qualitative analysis of traditional media coverage of StopXam. Media analysis highlights intriguing nuances of traditional media as a powerful actor and discourse setter in the digital age.
Article in English
DOI: 10.25285/2078-1938-2019-11-3-16-45

/pdf/heroes-or-hooligans-media-portrayal-of-stopxam-stop-a-3ljyh691yv.pdf

Heroes or Hooligans? Media Portrayal of StopXam (Stop a Douchebag) Vigilantes in Russia

Motorists deal with traffic police officers on a daily basis. In Russia, the operations of the traffic police are not transparent. Mass surveys show that contacts with traffic police officers represent a key source of corruption in this country. This article discusses the links between corruption in the traffic police and road safety. Corruption in the traffic police has a positive impact on road safety in Russia, a middle-income country. It suppresses economic growth and thus reduces the intensity of road use. In the current situation, Russian motorists have no incentive for fighting corruption: constantly growing fines and penalties for traffic offences increase the attractiveness of paying bribes compared to individual and/or collective protests. A vicious circle emerges as a result: corruption becomes self-sustainable. The official statistical data and results of a nationally representative sociological survey provide the data for the analysis. An instrumental variables analysis and multiple regression modelling are used in this study.

Anton Oleinik

Papers

Corruption on the road: A case study of Russian traffic police