The Big Answer

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The Amazon blurb says that The world is undergoing a profound set of digital disruptions that are changing the nature of how governments counter dissent and assert control over their countries. While increasing numbers of people rely primarily or exclusively on online platforms, authoritarian regimes have concurrently developed a formidable array of technological capabilities to constrain and repress their citizens.

In The Rise of Digital Repression: How Technology is Reshaping Power, Politics, and Resistance, Steven Feldstein documents how the emergence of advanced digital tools bring new dimensions to political repression. Presenting new field research from Thailand, the Philippines, and Ethiopia, he investigates the goals, motivations, and drivers of these digital tactics. Feldstein further highlights how governments pursue digital strategies based on a range of factors: ongoing levels of repression, political leadership, state capacity, and technological development. The international community, he argues, is already seeing glimpses of what the frontiers of repression look like. For instance, Chinese authorities have brought together mass surveillance, censorship, DNA collection, and artificial intelligence to enforce their directives in Xinjiang. As many of these trends go global, Feldstein shows how this has major implications for democracies and civil society activists around the world.

Our leftist government and universities have prevented honest discussions of issues in favor of indoctrinating students with ugly racist CRT theory, and indoctrination is simply another form of digital repression

A compelling synthesis of how anti-democratic leaders harness powerful technology to advance their political objectives, The Rise of Digital Repression: How Technology is Reshaping Power, Politics, and Resistance concludes by laying out innovative ideas and strategies for civil society and opposition movements to respond to the digital autocratic wave.

As Feldstein sees it, "Autocrats face two main threats: insider challenges and popular protests.

In the post-Cold War era, popular protests are greater threats to autocratic survival than coups.

Preempting popular protests requires creating unitary and inclusive coercive institutions with strong intelligence capabilities that can deter protestors and opposition activists.

Putin's skill at election interference changed many voters' votes in 2015; Putin has even more reasons to do the same in 2023 since Trump won't support Ukraine like Biden will

Such governmental systems rely on low-intensity coercive tactics— surveillance, opposition harassment, legal persecution, and short-term detentions—to maintain power.

Digital repression techniques directly align with low-intensity repression, providing a significent advantage to autocratic regimes.

Accordingly, digital repression strategies provide unparalleled capabilities to monitor personal communications, disrupt political organizing, and manipulate public conversations. They are also far less obtrusive than conventional, more violent tactics. As a result, regimes that pursue digital strategies run a lower risk of undermining their legitimacy (e.g., inciting public backlash by using violent tactics) while still accomplishing their political control objectives.

It's important to emphasize that repression is not limited to autocracies. Democracies, particularly illiberal regimes, also carry out repressive policies. But, across the board, autocracies repress more frequently and with more severity than democracies. Even in illiberal democracies and hybrid regimes (which lack the same liberal political traditions as advanced democracies), repression is still costlier for leaders to pursue; coercion threatens to create a presumption of illegitimacy, raising the likelihood that citizens will vote the incumbent out of office. When it comes to the application of digital techniques, the same logic holds: autocracies are more likely than democracies to use digital tools to reinforce regime survival. But as I explore later, this rule applies more strongly for certain digital tactics than others."

Coercion threatens to create a presumption of illegitimacy, raising the likelihood that citizens will vote the incumbent out of office

"Feldstein's book makes a noteworthy methodological contribution to the literature by introducing digital repression, digital repression capacity, and the AI and big-data global surveillance indexesEL. It offers a strong foundation for future research through its analytical approach to case studies and methodological contributions to a fast-growing field." -- Reyhan Topal, The Information Society

"The Rise of Digital Repression: How Technology is Reshaping Power, Politics, and Resistance invites us to look beyond digital politics in North America and Europe. Technology in authoritarian hands creates smothering repression in the Philippines, Ethiopia, Thailand, or anywhere one finds governments fear of their own citizens. Advances in artificial intelligence, especially when developed by techno-authoritarian regimes, deepens the concern. Yet, in the end, Feldman guides us through more hopeful alternatives. This is essential reading for those who are concerned about the struggle between freedom and repression." -- Steven Livingston, Professor & Founding Director Institute for Data, Democracy, and Politics, George Washington University

"Steve Feldstein delivers a book that will be viewed as indispensable to anyone concerned with the intersection of technology and the state, and particularly, the evolving impact on people's quest for freedom the world over. In original case studies, he details how the current rising tide of authoritarianism has been enabled by digital repression. This tide could recede; equally compelling are the strategies he outlines for democratic governments, for civil society activists, and for those in the private sector looking to stem the tide." -- Sarah E. Mendelson, Distinguished Service Professor of Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, Former U.S. Ambassador to the UN's Economic and Social Council

State repression is helping autocracies to stay in power endlessly

"This book is a must-read on the myriad ways that state repression has adapted to the digital age. Through data-driven analysis and original case studies, Steven Feldstein provides a comprehensive guide to online censorship, disinformation, and surveillance. This is an excellent primer for those looking to understand how to push back against digital authoritarianism." -- Adrian Shahbaz, Director for Technology and Democracy, Freedom House

"Digital technologies were once seen as a harbinger of liberalization and democratization. Thanks to 'big data,' A.I., machine learning, facial recognition, and other mass surveillance systems, they have now become an autocrat's best friend and a big business opportunity. With precision and clarity, Steven Feldstein documents the disturbing spread of the political economy of digital repression and offers pathways to help resist it. The Rise of Digital Repression: How Technology is Reshaping Power, Politics, and Resistance is an important contribution to the scholarly literature on information controls." -- Ron Deibert, Director, the Citizen Lab, Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, the University of Toronto

Steven Feldstein is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in the Democracy, Conflict and Governance Program. Previously, he was the holder of the Frank and Bethine Church Chair of Public Affairs and an associate professor at Boise State University. He served in the Obama administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor with responsibility for Africa policy, international labor affairs, and international religious freedom, and as Director of Policy at the US Agency for International Development. He has also served as Counsel on the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee under former chairmen Joe Biden and John Kerry. He received his B.A. from Princeton and his J.D. from Berkeley Law.

Our government isn't alone in its privacy violations and rights trampling—most countries have these freedom ruining features happening to some degree, the worst being China, Russia, Iran and North Korea

There is a reason the book 1984 kept people up at night. We have many 1984 scenarios already in full blossom around the globe, full of digital repression and worse. Many of the citizens in these nations are not even aware how nefarious and evil their nation's war on truth, integrity, decency, privacy, and human rights truly is. They've been taught/brainwashed that they are the good guys and other nations are evil and out to get them if they don't prepare properly via weapons stockpiling (e.g., China). Orwell's dystopian novel 1984 says “The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”

The Ministry of Love deals with torture—this nonsense isn't ordinary hypocrisy: it is a deliberate exercise in doublethink

The Ministry of Truth, the Ministry of Peace, the Ministry of Love, and the Ministry of Plenty are the four ministries of the government of Oceania in the dystopian novel by Orwell 1984. The Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war, the Ministry of Truth with lies, the Ministry of Love with torture, and the Ministry of Plenty with starvation. These contradictions are not accidental, nor do they result from ordinary hypocrisy: they are deliberate exercises in doublethink. The Ministry of Love (Newspeak: Miniluv) serves as Oceania's interior ministry. It enforces loyalty to Big Brother through fear, buttressed through a massive apparatus of security and repression, as well as systematic brainwashing. The Thought Police are a part of the Ministry of Love. ["If you are scratching your head as to how radicals could have seized control in Washington, and of American media, while defaming American democracy as a ‘white supremacist’ nightmare, look no further than the left’s transformation of American universities into ideological boot camps for Marxist treachery."—David Horowitz, reviewing Brutal Minds: The Dark World of Left-Wing Brainwashing in Our Universities] (Source: Ministries in Nineteen Eighty-Four, Wikipedia)

In 1984, the citizens had to put up with enormous violations of their privacy and rights in the name of Big Brother, and the Ministry of Truth was about lying to the public about what was happening

In Time magazine, there is an anti-Trump piece about truth. "Donald Trump goes full George Orwell in his most recent speech to Veterans. “Just remember, what you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening.”" Of course, believing that Trump is Orwellian requires you buy into the idea that the liberal mainstream media is presenting the truth which NO conservative and few liberals would buy. Trump showed conclusively that the mainstream media was lying and merely presenting what the MSM wanted citizens to think so he began referring to it as "the lying mainstream media." Trump stating that "what you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening" was a statement of truth, but Time depicted it as a lying gotcha, when the lying gotcha was what Time said, not what Trump said. For four years of Trump the lying MSM kept their lies up. However, Fox News and Newsmax presented the truth and the lying MSM kept their lies up (which they're still doing). (Source: 'What You're Seeing... Is Not What's Happening.' People Are Comparing This Trump Quote to George Orwell, Mahita Gajanan, Time)

By 2008, the idea of communications privacy in the United States had literally become a joke—our Big Brother government watches your every move

Fly #353242252 reporting: Citizen #312,756,972 doesn't seem to be hiding a thing—my conclusion is that she's clean; but just to be sure I think I'll hang around a bit longer!

The U.S. has become a surveillance society like 1984. WE cannot recollect being consulted on such a radical step! WE cannot recall being allowed to vote on the matter! What kind of democacy goes fascist without our consent—the consent of the governed? The ugly answer is: an oligarchy, NOT a democracy. See:

• Democracy—an American Delusion
• Freedom of the Press—an American Delusion
• The Rise of the American Corporate Security State
• Our take on a review of Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty
• Lords of Secrecy: The National Security Elite and America's Stealth Warfare
• The American Deep State: Wall Street, Big Oil, and the Attack on U.S. Democracy
• Shadow Government: Surveillance, Secret Wars, and a Global Security State in a Single-Superpower World

Our nation's actions are making the Founders turn over in their graves

Like vampires in a house of horrors, Big Brother is sucking the data and privacy and life from our veins while pretending they just want to give us free search, social networking, and information, but while actually charging a very steep price indeed

Eventually the people caught on to the lies and the most watched channels became, not the lying MSM trash and their fake news but Fox News with Newsmax catching up fast. [And people see the weaponized Department of Justice giving Trump 91 indictments for what it is: illegal election interference.] (Source: Fake News Exposed about Trump: 25 of the Worst Media Lies and Biased Attacks on President Trump and His Family, Volume One, Daniel R Street, Amazon)

The people see the weaponized Department of Justice giving Trump 91 indictments for what it is: illegal election interference by a corrupt Marxist government

The huge pyramid-like size of the Ministry of Truth is a testament to the resources that the Government of Oceania puts into manufacturing its own version of reality [similar to our MSM]. Its main role is to help control the population through misinformation, outright lies and lack of information so that the state can maintain total power over the people. (Source: Fighting Fake)

The Biden government has plenty of history rewriters dumping true history in favor of racist Critical Race Theory and systemic racism and wokeism both in books but also in education. Why do they have no shame when they pervert history this way? They actually think that the Founders that gave us our great nation were evil and corrupt racists, so they push Marxism/communism as the prefered replacement for democracy and capitalism! This is treason, but the lying MSM hasn't the guts to say so so the ignorant sheeple keep walking around, oblivious, in a country that will soon be in a civil war due to patriots rebelling against the treason and Marxism. Orwell's book saw what happened in the fascism of WWII and was warning us about exactly what's happening in 2023 in the USA.

The Ministry of Love serves as Oceania's interior ministry. It enforces loyalty to Big Brother through fear, buttressed through a massive apparatus of security and repression, as well as systematic brainwashing. The Thought Police are a part of the Ministry of Love

The Rise of Digital Repression: How Technology is Reshaping Power, Politics, and Resistance is a good book about the details of how those that want endless power are willing to use any method and go to endless lengths to attain their greedy, corrupt goals. The leftists use the corrupt Marxist Black Lives Matter as foot soldiers and college administrators as brainwashers to push their evil scheme on our country and the lying MSM won't say a word since they are in on the scheme, as are the Democrats and other leftist insurrectionists who have zero respect for our country or our constitution or our values. Why are leftists so eager to commit treason? More power. And why do we let them? Cowardice.

Leftists boldly push Marxism/communism as the prefered evil replacement for democracy and capitalism! This is treason but the lying MSM hasn't the guts to say so so the ignorant sheeple keep walking around, oblivious, in a country that will soon be in a civil war