German Institute for Global and Area Studies | Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien

Maria Josua

Justifications of Repression in Autocracies: An Empirical Analysis of the Maghreb, 2000–2010

GIGA Working Papers | 2022

Abstract

Previous studies on the justification of repression have analysed large-scale protests, about which autocratic officials communicate to avoid backlash effects. However, we know much less about how everyday repression against dissidents and ordinary citizens is communicated and justified under authoritarianism. This paper is the first to systematically investigate how officials in autocracies justify, conceal, or deny different forms of repression employed by different state institutions. It studies the communication of repression in two North African autocracies, drawing on the novel Justifications of Repressive Incidents in Morocco and Tunisia Dataset. The dataset contains 439 events between 2000–2010 and disaggregates the various dimensions of repression and its communication. The empirical analysis shows that the chosen forms of repression influence patterns of communication and justification. Studying the communication of repression helps us better understand the nexus of authoritarian legitimation and political violence in the Middle East and North Africa region and beyond.

Reihe

GIGA Working Papers

Reihennummer

331

Seitenumfang

Verlag

German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA)

Erscheinungsort

Hamburg

Dr. Maria Josua

Research Fellow / Sprecherin Forschungsteam

T. +49 40 42825-714 maria.josua@giga-hamburg.de

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GIGA WP 331

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Associate

Dr. Maria Josua

Research Fellow / Sprecherin Forschungsteam

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Organisation: Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit Dr. Maria Josua (Berater:in)

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Research Fellow / Sprecherin Forschungsteam

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Prof. Dr. Eckart Woertz

Direktor des GIGA Instituts für Nahost-Studien / Redaktion GIGA Focus Nahost

Contemporary Politics | 02.2024

Justifications of Repression in Autocracies: An Empirical Analysis of Morocco and Tunisia, 2000–2010

This article investigates the communication of everyday repression in autocracies. It analyzes data from the novel "Justifications of Repressive Incidents in Morocco and Tunisia Dataset (JuRI)" covering human rights violations and judicial repression in the years 2000-2010.