Researchers at the Hertie School’s Centre for International Security have authored a new chapter examining how governments increasingly use digital tools to consolidate political control – advancing the growing scholarly effort to understand “digital authoritarianism”.
The chapter, Digital Authoritarianism, by Professor of International and Cyber Security Anita Gohdes, Research Fellow Allison Wun-hui Koh, and PhD candidate Maurice P. Schumann, in the Handbook of Political Control (edited by Jennifer Earl and Jessica Maves Braithwaite) is now available online and will be available as hardcover in early 2026. The chapter offers an accessible entry point into the field of research on digital authoritarianism, providing a clear definition of digital authoritarianism, outlining its core goals and key practices, the conditions under which these practices are most effective, and the groups most frequently targeted. It also synthesises existing research and identifies key gaps for future study.
The authors define digital authoritarianism as the use of digital technologies to:
- Manufacture support
- Reduce threats from existing opposition
- Prevent future opposition
For each goal, the authors describe the most common practices used to achieve them as well as the groups targeted most frequently, as detailed in the table below:
| Strategy | Practices | Targets |
|---|---|---|
| 1) Manufacturing support | - Automated and manual spread of dis- and mis-information - Conducted by state actors, media, private firms, and individuals - Paired with selective censorship | - General population - Foreign populations |
| 2) Reducing threats | - Broad censorship (e.g. internet shutdowns) - Targeted censorship (e.g. blocking accounts) - Targeted surveillance - Targeted harassment | - General population - Groups or citizens governments see as threats |
| 3) Preventing opposition | - Legislation regulating online content hosts and producers - Mass surveillance - Deterrence through public awareness of surveillance | - General population - Marginalised groups and opposition groups |
The Handbook of Political Control, published by De Gruyter, establishes political control as a new interdisciplinary field. Centred on the Earl-Braithwaite layered model of repression, the volume brings together work from the disciplines of political science, sociology, communication, as well as interdisciplinary fields and various area studies. Rather than limiting the study of repression to the direct surveillance and suppression of social movements, nonviolent resistance, or violent contention (such as civil wars and terrorism), the layered model expands the analytical lens. It examines how political controls can generate and sustain societal quiescence, targeting entire populations or minoritised groups through mechanisms embedded in political institutions and civil society.
Access the online version of the book and pre-order your copy of the forthcoming De Gruyter Handbook of Political Control here.