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Research Network on
Digital AuthoritarianismDigital authoritarianism is defined as the ‘use of digital information technology by authoritarian regimes to surveil, repress, and manipulate domestic and foreign populations’ (Owen Jones, 2022). However, we believe that this kind of malicious activity is not limited to authoritarian regimes. Digital technologies, such as social media, could be employed by non-democratic forces in each country to manipulate public opinion and propel nefarious aims, such as stirring social conflicts and dividing societies. Such malicious activities, whether in democratic contexts or non-democratic societies, have been on the rise in recent years. Non-democratic forces now employ a variety of tactics, including sharing disinformation and agents, like social bots, to manipulate social media communication and protests worldwide. The rapid advancements in AI technologies, like Large Language Models, add to the complexity of this picture.
The Research Network is dedicated to studying digital authoritarianism and counterpart concepts like computational propaganda, PsyOps, or InfoOps, across countries and platforms. While a major focus of the Research Network is on social media as the main vehicle for political communication nowadays, it also investigates other online spaces and apps, like video game streams, webpages, etc.
The RN on digital authoritarianism aims to gather interested scholars in this area together to share knowledge, exchange ideas, and forge collaborations. In this way, the group of researchers on this topic, which we believe is scattered and not organized to date, will have a home to meet and know each other and become familiar with each other research. Such a community could play a significant role in shaping the public discourse of digital authoritarianism in academia and beyond.
Through its various activities, the digital authoritarianism RN aims to inspire new ideas, initiate collaboration across disciplines, and disseminate research results among practitioners, policymakers, and civil society.
Specifically, the digital authoritarianism RN aims to:
• Provide a forum for debate and the presentation of ongoing research;
• Consolidate networks of scholars across Europe and beyond;
• Encourage collaborative, interdisciplinary, and comparative research on the role of digital authoritarianism in contemporary societies;
• Organize regular symposia and a stream of panels at the ECPR general conference and joint workshops;
• Collaborate with other standing groups and research networks in areas of mutual interest;
• Initiate collaboration with other national and international associations in the field;
• Provide a dedicated website to enable the exchange of information and collaboration;
• Support young scholars in developing and presenting their research;