Legal repression in authoritarian societies

Book section : Chapter

The layered model of repression at the heart of this edited volume differentiates between control measures based on the generality or specificity of the targets of repression. The blurred boundaries between different targets encourage scholars to investigate the downstream and upstream effects of social movement repression. In this essay, I discuss how the layered model of repression invites new questions about the origins of quiescence in authoritarian states, where attempts at social control are generalized. I focus on how, by using the institution of the law to target social movements and activists, autocrats may set the boundaries of acceptable dissent and produce society-wide compliance. I also discuss the mechanisms by which legal repression’s effects manifest and its importance for authoritarian politics. I conclude by encouraging scholars to think beyond regime-type dichotomies as they continue to explore the origins and consequences of repressive law and legal repression.

Authors: Tertytchnaya, K

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Host title: De Gruyter Handbook of Political Control
• Pages: 285-297
• Chapter number: III: 2
• Series: De Gruyter Contemporary Social Sciences Handbooks
• Series number: 16
• Place of publication: Berlin/Boston
• Publication date: 2025-12-15
• Edition: 1
• DOI: 10.1515/9783111298559-015
• EISSN: 2747-9277
• ISSN: 2747-9269
• EISBN: 9783111298559
• ISBN: 9783111298504
• Language: English
• Keywords: legal repression; law; authoritarianism; quiescence; public opinion
• Subtype: Chapter