Recoding Reality: The Rise of Digital Authoritarianism

Abstract

Recoding Reality:The Rise of Digital Authoritarianism The SAIS Review Editorial Board The 2020s thus far have been defined by a pandemic, economic and physical insecurity, looming climate disaster, and violent conflicts around the world. The culmination of these dire circumstances has led to movements in all forms calling for fundamental change in existing political, economic, and social structures. Technology has been a bulwark and democratizing force in enabling masses of people to express themselves in a transparent and far-reaching manner. Amid these inspiring scenes lingers a more sobering reality. The global shocks already experienced in this decade have exacerbated the fading and inconsistent presence of major democracies on the international stage. State actors responded with repression, state-sponsored violence, and heavy jail sentences levied against prominent dissidents. Alarmingly, technology's potential as a democratizing force is equal if not less than its potential as a tool of repression. As China, Russia, and other one-party states begin to export this form of governance, an analysis of this emerging form of government is crucial. Digital authoritarianism's present threat to democracy is the product of 16 consecutive years of decline in global freedom. As this decade unfolds, allowing this form of governance to take root without critical analysis may be the death nail on democracy itself. This edition of The SAIS Review of International Affairs will address the ways in which state and nonstate actors stifle dissent with digital authoritarianism, defined as the use of information technology by regimes to manipulate, repress, and surveil domestic and international populations. Recoding Reality: The Emergence of Digital Authoritarianism seeks to not only explore this emerging phenomenon, but to juxtapose the emergence of digital authoritarianism with the declining relative influence of major democracies in the face of immense global challenges. The issue begins with an article by Ahmed Abozaid that highlights the growing concern surrounding Egypt's antiterrorism laws, which do not necessarily tackle the state's war against terror, but instead serves the interests of groups such as the armed forces, neoliberal elites, and the old regime. Dr. Abozaid argues that these laws complement other legislation that restrict journalists and reporters from freely expressing themselves online and offline. Egyptian authorities employ cyber and digital counterterrorism measures as [End Page 1] part of their "cyber Baltaga" (digital thuggery) strategy to demonstrate their way of preserving and advancing their domination of the public and cyber spheres. Years of repression have led to Egypt being ranked as one of the world's worst jailers of journalists. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has dominated conversations for the past year, causing many to reassess long held beliefs about power and conflicts, particularly in the digital space. This issue includes two articles focusing on the conflict, each approaching the impacts of Russian digital authoritarianism in different ways. Fabian Burkhardt and Mariëlle Wijermars discuss the ways in which externally imposed sanctions have disrupted Russia's digital mechanisms of control. States' reliance on foreign platforms and technology is a byproduct of the integrated nature of the digital sphere. Dr. Burkhardt and Dr. Wijermars argue that this reliance shapes the regime's ability to control and suppress domestically, focusing on the changes to Russia's repressive capabilities as these foreign technologies are restricted by sanctions. In examining the period from February to September of 2022, they find that while Russia has demonstrated enhanced capacity for digital authoritarianism in response to these sanctions, the conflict also threatens the future of the digital infrastructures necessary for repression. Where the prior article looked at the impact of external forces on Russia's capacity for digital repression, Jackie Kerr examines Russian internal digital dynamics. In tracing the relationship between the state and Runet (the Russian Internet), Kerr examines how the conflicts, contradictions, and communities formed as Runet developed affect the regime's actions, both domestically and internationally. She contrasts the Kremlin's repressive efforts with the digital communities that have evolved in response, offering insight into the future of Russian, and perhaps global, internet freedom. Hugh Harsono writes about the potential that Web3 provides for decentralizing the internet and the People's Republic of China's (PRC) attempts to manipulate its...