Note: This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The episode originally aired October 2021.
The world is undergoing a profound set of digital disruptions that are changing the nature of how governments counter dissent and assert control over their countries. While increasing numbers of people rely primarily or exclusively on online platforms, authoritarian regimes have concurrently developed a formidable array of technological capabilities to constrain and repress their citizens. In his book, The Rise of Digital Repression: How Technology is Reshaping Power, Politics, and Resistance, Steven Feldstein documents how the emergence of advanced digital tools bring new dimensions to political repression. Presenting new field research from Thailand, the Philippines, and Ethiopia, he investigates the goals, motivations, and drivers of these digital tactics.
Steven Feldstein is a senior fellow in Carnegie’s Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program. His articles and essays have appeared in Foreign Affairs, the Washington Post, among many other places. The Rise of Digital Repression is his first book.
