The Role of Digital Platforms in Shaping Social Movements and Activism in Authoritarian Regimes

Abstract

This paper examines the effect that the internet avenues had in the formation of social movements and activism in authoritarian states with empirical data being used to comment on the mobilization trends, state response and survival by the activists. The findings demonstrate that digital platforms contribute greatly to the ability of the activists to mobilize, communicate and organize by using the speed with which information travels, networks of coordination, and dissemination of other alternative political discourses other than the state-media. The quantitative and qualitative data show that social media and encrypted communication tools have helped them to become more active, mobilize the protest faster, and raise more awareness about the movements in other countries. The paper also displays that the authoritarian regimes use digital surveillance, algorithmic censorship, internet blackouts, and online suppression to address these trends. This limits the impacts of digital activism in the long run. The findings further show that the digital mediation movements are more effective and sustainable based on organizational aspects, including the availability of digital tools and platform functionality, and the moderation between the activist creativeness and the government control. The study arrives at the conclusion that the digital platforms are important issues in matters of bringing change to politics, but are not the major reasons of bringing about political change. They alter the strategies, access and survival of social movements in the authoritarian spaces as well as amplify the activities of the state to monitor the internet.