THE ROLE OF THE PRESS AND MEDIA IN DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT: AN ANALYSIS OF POST-SOVIET COUNTRIES

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between political regime type, press freedom, and institutional trust in post-Soviet countries. The study draws on normative media theory, Dahl's theory of polyarchy, and Timur Kuran's theory of preference falsification. The empirical analysis combines data from the seventh wave of the World Values Survey with the Democracy Index published by the Economist Intelligence Unit and the World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders.

The findings reveal a strong positive correlation between democracy and press freedom at the global level, supporting the expectations of normative media theory. At the same time, several post-Soviet authoritarian regimes exhibit relatively high levels of declared trust in government institutions and elections. This pattern is consistent with Kuran's argument that publicly expressed political attitudes may differ from private preferences under conditions of limited political competition.

The study contributes to the comparative analysis of post-Soviet political regimes by demonstrating that while press freedom is closely associated with democratic development, institutional trust is also shaped by broader political contexts.