Research framework and broader academic knowledge base
Serbia: documented application of the same framework
Can the same technology help both governments control people and citizens resist them?
It can, because the same feature of technology gives opportunity to citizens and authorities. The phone allows quick connection, recording of abuse, sharing instructions and gathering of people who did not know each other before. At the same time it leaves the location, contacts and communication pattern that can help the authorities to recognize the organizers, monitor the network or stop access.
The public of a platform increases the range of the message, but also the visibility of the participants; encryption protects the content, but does not have to hide who communicated with whom. The outcome is not determined by the application itself, but by the relationship of abilities, rules and customization of both parties. The more permanent question is who can see, connect and break communication, how quickly people can change the channel and what is the cost of error for the citizen in relation to the government.
Platforms change quickly. More lasting conclusions talk about visibility, connecting and recognizing people, not about one application or company.
Works supporting this answer, with their evidence type and an explanation of how they relate to the claim.
comparing several countries or cases
Feldstein, S. (2021), The Rise of Digital Repression: How Technology Is Reshaping Power, Politics, and Resistance, Oxford University Press.
- Contribution to this answer
- Feldstein describes the “digital paradox”: the same technologies that make it easier for people to communicate, access information and connect give the authorities new opportunities to monitor, censor, manipulate and target punishment. The outcome is therefore not determined by the technology itself, but by the relationship of political power and capacity of those who use it.
data from a large number of countries
Xu, X. (2021), „To Repress or to Co-opt? Authoritarian Control in the Age of Digital Surveillance“, American Journal of Political Science 65(2): 309–325.
- Contribution to this answer
- Xu shows one side of this relationship very well: the technology of the government allows it to more accurately distinguish opponents from other citizens and thus make the repression more targeted. The work, however, does not examine how citizens use the same technology for resistance.
research that checks more closely what the cause is
Roberts, M. E. (2018), Censored: Distraction and Diversion Inside China’s Great Firewall, Princeton University Press.
- Contribution to this answer
- Roberts shows that digital control is never completely one-sided: citizens can often technically bypass roadblocks, use alternative channels or seek out forbidden information. The government is therefore trying not only to build them a wall, but also to increase the effort, risk and price required to cross it.
review more research
Chenoweth, E. (2021), Civil Resistance: What Everyone Needs to Know, Oxford University Press.
- Contribution to this answer
- Chenoweth shows what allows citizens to create political power from below: mass and diverse participation, coordination, tactical adaptability, resistance to repression and the transition of people from the regime. This well explains what communication technology can make easier, but the book is not a study of digital technology as such.
review more research
Han, H., Baggetta, M. i Oser, J. (2024), „Organizing and Democracy: Understanding the Possibilities for Transformative Collective Action“, Annual Review of Political Science 27: 245–262.
- Contribution to this answer
- Han, Baggetta and Oser make an important difference between simply mobilizing a large number of people and organizing that builds relationships, skills, leadership and a lasting ability to act together. That is why a large number of followers or viral publication is not the same as political power capable of surviving after the attention of the Internet disappears.
Is a relevant source missing? Send it to us.
Suggest a source or report an error in this answer →