@article{115286,
  author = {Mark R. Beissinger},
  title = {{\textquoteleft}Conventional{\textquoteright} and {\textquoteleft}Virtual{\textquoteright} Civil Societies in Autocratic Regimes},
  abstract = { In recent years many non-democracies have witnessed the rapid growth of new social media that have, in a number of instances, become vehicles for civic activism, even in the presence of anemic {\textquotedblleft}conventional{\textquotedblright} civil society association.~~ Using evidence from Russia, Tunisia, Egypt, and Ukraine, this article explores the implications of {\textquotedblleft}virtual{\textquotedblright} civil society for opposition politics in autocratic regimes.~~ The rise of {\textquotedblleft}virtual{\textquotedblright} civil society potentially presents autocratic regimes with new challenges for control over the streets.~ But a robust {\textquotedblleft}virtual{\textquotedblright} civil society combined with a weak {\textquotedblleft}conventional{\textquotedblright} civil society has a series of less positive consequences for oppositional politics, reinforcing weak political organization, breeding a false sense of representativeness, diluting collective identities within oppositions, and rendering mobilization over extended periods of time more difficult. },
  year = {2017},
  journal = {Comparative Politics},
  volume = {49},
  pages = {351-371},
  language = {eng},
}