How Authoritarianism Transforms: Examining the Impact of Digitization on Political Regimes

Abstract

In 2023, we argued that digital technologies, particularly those that assist surveillance, manipulation, repression, and censorship, are fundamentally transforming not only politics in authoritarian regimes but also their overall modus operandi (Schlumberger et al. 2023). We hypothesized, among other things, that these transformations alter the composition of elites, the functioning of political institutions, and the social backing of ruling pacts in authoritarian regimes. This panel discusses some important ways in which (politics under) authoritarianism is transforming in light of increasing digitization.

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