By Lúria Mabui
Maputo (MOZTIMES) – At the end of the last century, Tsebelis (1998)1 developed the theory of “Hidden Games” to explain how the political arena works. Tsebelis’ central assumption is that politics is a dynamic field of strategic interactions, where agents – politicians, parties, the media, among others – play behind the scenes to achieve their interests.
Tsebelis observes that, for the most part, citizens view the political arena in a distorted way, mainly through the lens of media narratives or simplifications presented by political parties. He argues that although many believe they are participating in a transparent democracy, in practice they are exposed to strategic “games” that mask the true intentions of political actors.
This erroneous perception of politics is sustained by a series of stagings by politicians that create a spectacle, a public façade where political choices appear clear, logical and moral, while behind the scenes there is a real manipulation of information and processes. This kind of staging is particularly evident in apparently democratic regimes, where institutions are captured by the ruling party, turning them into vehicles for maintaining power.
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