No abstract

The situation of the global coronavirus pandemic has once again actualized the problem of the effectiveness of democratic and authoritarian rule, the advantages and disadvantages of political, economic and cultural practices formed within their framework. The coronavirus epidemic is becoming a kind of existential challenge, the answer to which determines the effectiveness and competence of the authoritarian ruling entity. The purpose of the study: to consider the features of the manifestations of authoritarian rule in the context of a global pandemic. Scientific novelty: within the framework of the study, the concept of pandemic authoritarianism is conceptualized, its typological characteristics are revealed.

In the context of the modern global information society, the institutionalization of any practice of domination - democratic or authoritarian - is conditioned by the need to use information and communication technologies (ICT). This is not only due to the relevant value and world outlook orientations of the dominant subject but also due to the peculiarity of the information environment of the modern society, which forms prerequisites for the application of both democratic and authoritarian practices of controlling information and using ICT. Within the article, authoritarian trends in information discourse are considered not only as the derivatives of a certain type of political culture but also as a reaction of the dominant subject to the growing complexity of social reality associated with the increasing role of information and communication technologies in the individual’s and the society’s existence. Authoritarianism is not viewed as an unequivocally negative phenomenon, but as a stage in the evolution of domination practices, the institutionalization nature of which, on the one hand, forms new communication channels between the society and the dominant subject, on the other hand, represents new forms of authoritarian domination.

Modern authoritarianism modifications development is conditioned not only by the practice of the political and economic subjugation of the society but also by the actions aimed to re-format its consciousness using information and communication technologies. To achieve this purpose, the ruling authorities use special practices influencing individuals’ ability to memorize and reproduce information on past events - mnemic authoritarianism. This concept is considered as a process of re-formatting individuals’ memory space using certain socio-cultural practices presupposing an individual’s inability to evaluate certain past events and his readiness to interpret them according to the value and normative matrix of the ruling authorities.

Authoritarianism and democracy as forms of power are based not only on political and economic practices, but also on various forms of cultural management. Orientalism has been one of them for a long time. However, as authoritarian and democratic forms of government evolved, a request arose for the creation of a new form of cultural governance, namely, neo-capitalism. The purpose of the study to analyze the features of the practice of culture management as an element of political power. Scientific novelty: an attempt is made to conceptualize the new concept of neo-orientalism, to reveal its main features and differences from classical orientalism.