Professor Esberg (University of Pennsylvania. Political Science.) explores the challenge cultural elites pose to dictators, as they can use their platforms to criticize the government. She investigates the logic of employment bans as a means of silencing cultural elites. Esberg argues that such bans reduce the visibility of prominent critics, limiting their reach even when they dissent. She supports this theory by matching data on film productions with lists of artists barred from working during Argentina’s military dictatorship (1976-1983). Her findings show that employment bans affected the public profile of targets, reducing their work output, forcing them abroad, and decreasing their press coverage. Evidence from theater suggests banned artists could dissent, but only to limited audiences. More broadly, bans contributed to industry self-censorship. These findings expand our understanding of dictators’ repertoires of repression, particularly for prominent potential opponents.
