The Rise of Digital Repression
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. Authoritarian regimes have developed a formidable array of technological capabilities to constrain and repress their citizens. Steven Feldstein will discuss his new book,
The Rise of Digital Repression, which describes how the emergence of advanced digital tools is bringing new dimensions to how leaders stay in power. Presenting new field research from Thailand, the Philippines, and Ethiopia, he will talk about goals, motivations, and drivers of these digital tactics, and offer ideas about how democracies and civil society groups can respond.
The Rise of Digital Repression is also the selected book for PCFR's May Reading Group on May 21, 2021. Learn more here.
Registration
FREE for PCFR Members
$10 for Non-Members
Schedule
Thursday, June 3, 2021
12:00 pm-1:00 pm MST
3:00 pm-4:00 pm EST
Venue
Zoom Meeting
The link for this webinar will be included in your registration confirmation email.
Speaker
Steven Feldstein
Senior Fellow, Democracy, Conflict and Governance
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Steven Feldstein is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program where he focuses on issues of technology and democracy, human rights, U.S. foreign policy, and Africa. 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. He also served as Director of Policy at the U.S. Agency for International Development and as Counsel on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, maintaining oversight of all foreign assistance agencies, budgets and programs. His articles and commentary have appeared in outlets such as the BBC, Bloomberg, Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Journal of Democracy, MIT Technology Review, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, War on the Rocks, and The Washington Post. He received his B.A. from Princeton and his J.D. from Berkeley Law. His new book, The Rise of Digital Repression: How Technology is Reshaping Power, Politics, and Resistance, comes out in April 2021.
Moderator
Luke Wenz
Deputy National Outreach Director of the Western Region
U.S. Global Leadership Coalition
Luke Wenz serves as the Deputy National Outreach Director of the Western Region for the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC), a broad-based coalition of over 500 businesses, NGOs, and faith-based groups that works in Washington, D.C. and around the country to strengthen America’s civilian-led tools of development and diplomacy, alongside defense. Alongside his work with USGLC, Luke is the President of Big Stick Consulting, LLC, a government relations and public relations firm in Arizona. Earlier in his career, Luke spent time working on Capitol Hill, and served as Deputy District Director for U.S. Congressman Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska and served as his Campaign Manager. Prior to his work on domestic politics, Luke has lived and worked in Amman, Jordan and Beirut, Lebanon – working in international development and studying the root causes of religiopolitical radicalization. Luke attended Nebraska Wesleyan University, where he studied political theory and the philosophy of religion. Though he travels extensively across the United States for work, Luke is based in Phoenix.
