Socio-Economic Development and the Uneven Legacies of Authoritarian Repression

Why does repression generate long-term resentment in some contexts but not others? Existing research focuses on how contemporary political context moderates the effects of repression; I emphasize factors that predated the repressive regime. I argue that prior socio-economic development shapes the legacies of political violence. In more developed areas, repression is harder to justify and more likely to provoke enduring backlash. Where development was limited, however, the promise of modernization may temper resentment. I explore two mechanisms – temporal comparisons and the role of education – and test the argument using novel census, archival, and survey data from Moldova. Combining historical records with contemporary public opinion surveys, I show that the relationship between Soviet-era repression and attitudes toward Moldova’s communist successor party varies systematically with prior development. These findings contribute to research on political violence by highlighting the importance of preexisting conditions in shaping long-term public responses to repression.