{"product_id":"virtual-politics-faking-democracy-in-the-postsoviet-world-9780300095456","title":"Virtual Politics: Faking Democracy in the Post-Soviet World","description":"\u003cp\u003eStates like Russia and Ukraine may not have gone back to totalitarianism or the traditional authoritarian formula of stuffing the ballot box  cowing the population and imprisoning the oppositionor not obviously. But a whole industry of political technology has developed instead  with shadowy private firms and government fixers on lucrative contracts dedicated to the black arts of organizing electoral success. This book uncovers the sophisticated techniques of the virtual political system used to legitimize post-Soviet regimes: entire fake parties  phantom political rivals and scarecrow opponents. And it exposes the paramount role of the mass media in projecting these creations and in falsifying the entire political process. Wilson argues that it is not primarily economic problems that have made it so difficult to develop meaningful democracy in the former Soviet world. Although the West also has its spin doctors  dirty tricks  and aggressive ad campaigns  it is the unique post-Bolshevik culture of political technology that is the main obstacle to better governance in the region  to real popular participation in public affairs  and to the modernization of the political economy in the longer term.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67923653853237,"sku":"ByrdShop_0300095457","price":246.97,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780300095456.jpg?v=1794110439","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/virtual-politics-faking-democracy-in-the-postsoviet-world-9780300095456","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}