Svetlana Stephenson1; 1 London Metropolitan University, UK
Discussion
The paper reassesses the Soviet practice of ritualistic public meetings, where members of the collective subjected each other to shaming and denunciation. Based on interviews with participants, the paper argues that these performances, though often failing to create a normative consensus, effectively served as rituals of obedience. While some meetings turned into affect-intensive performances and others failed to engage collective emotions, being perceived as empty and absurd, they nonetheless reinforced conformity and acted as disciplinary devices. The paper suggests that, in analysing the rituals of power, we should move beyond their role in fostering consensus, strengthening bonds, or manufacturing specific political subjectivities, and consider how even “phony” rituals can reproduce structures of domination. This approach helps to understand how power is sustained in authoritarian regimes.
