Kanevskiy, P. (2023). Digital Illiberalism and the Erosion of the Liberal International Order. In: Berghofer, J., Futter, A., Häusler, C., Hoell, M., Nosál, J. (eds) The Implications of Emerging Technologies in the Euro-Atlantic Space. Palgrave Macmillan
Abstract
Early hopes that the rise of the Internet would lead to worldwide democratisation, better accountability and more trustful interstate relations were put into question by a darker reality in which online technologies became instruments of digital illiberalism. This chapter will aim to explore how states, political groups and private companies directly or indirectly use technologies to undermine basic principles of liberalism at home and abroad that has a long-lasting impact on global security and cooperation. It is not the technology itself but the way it is used that makes it a central element of digital illiberalism. In this situation regulatory tools have their limits, because they are region-specific, there are risks of falling into a securitisation trap and crossing red lines of state involvement and individual freedoms. Hence, careful state regulation must be accompanied by diplomatic and trust-building measures, new models of normative behaviours, adjustments in education, and instruments for power-projection and information.
