The consequences of trust and repression on the rise and fall of movements in authoritarian regimes

Abstract

This article analyzes the relation between interpersonal trust, repression, mobilization, and demobilization in authoritarian regimes. Does interpersonal trust impact mobilization in authoritarian regimes? Does an authoritarian regime’s strategies of repression and cooptation fuel distrust among movement actors and consequently lead to demobilization? Through relying on qualitative analysis in Egypt in the aftermath of the January 2011 uprising, I argue that interpersonal trust plays a significant role in the mobilization process of opposition movements. Yet, when movement members’ interpersonal trust levels and mobilizational capacities are high, authoritarian regimes utilize excessive repressive strategies to fragment and demobilize them. However, repression is not the only strategy utilized by regimes to demobilize the opposition. Other strategies, mainly cooptation and movement infiltration, are used by authoritarian regimes to fuel distrust among opposition movement actors and between movement actors and the citizens at large. These three strategies add to opposition movement’s fragmentation and demobilization.