Week 04
Propaganda Narratives: Performance and Economy
Required Reading
If You Will Read Only One Piece
Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century
Reading guidance: Read Chapter 3, “Postmodern Propaganda.” Also skim Chapter 1.
Other Readings Discussed in the Lecture
The Logic of Vladimir Putin’s Popular Appeal
Franco: The Biography of the Myth
Reading guidance: Chapter 5, “Bestower of Prosperity.”
Further Reading
Ala’ Alrababa’h and Lisa Blaydes
“Authoritarian Media and Diversionary Threats: Lessons from 30 Years of Syrian State Discourse”
Political Science Research and Methods (2021)
Selim Erdem Aytaç
“Effectiveness of Incumbent’s Strategic Communication during Economic Crisis under Electoral Authoritarianism: Evidence from Turkey”
American Political Science Review (2021)
Bryn Rosenfeld
“The Popularity Costs of Economic Crisis under Electoral Authoritarianism: Evidence from Russia”
American Journal of Political Science (2018)
Hongshen Zhu and Tony Zirui Yang
“Doublespeak: Limits of China’s Hard and Soft Propaganda during Political Crises”
Working paper (2023)
Ashley Esarey
“Propaganda as a Lens for Assessing Xi Jinping’s Leadership”
Journal of Contemporary China (2021)
Marc Owen Jones
Digital Authoritarianism in the Middle East: Deception, Disinformation and Social Media
Hurst (2022)
Reading guidance: Chapter 3, “Making Arabia Great Again: The Evolution of Digital Media Power and Digital Populism in the Gulf.”
Lanabi La Lova
“Vladimir Putin on Channel One, 2000–2022”
Political Communication (2025)