Authoritarian Practices in the Digital Age—Introduction

Abstract

Academic debates on the role of digital technologies in authoritarian and democratic contexts rarely intersect. Research investigating the resilience of authoritarian regimes in the digital age generally runs parallel to inquiries about the “authoritarian qualities” of digital technologies in liberal democracies. Our Special Section breaks new ground by systematically examining authoritarian practices in relation to digital technologies in multilateral, transnational, and public–private settings. This introduction briefly explains the research agenda and aim of the collection, and then outlines its contributions.