Dear all, I am happy to share with you this announcement of a Special Section on 'Authoritarian Practices in the Digital Age', just published in the International Journal of Communication: There is increasing concern about how digital technologies contribute to a decline of democracy and the rise of authoritarian tendencies. The Special Section breaks new ground by systematically examining how digital authoritarian practices are diffused between states, co-produced by states and corporate actors, legitimized in multilateral settings, and experienced by citizens. Digital authoritarian practices describe threats to the democratic process, sabotaging accountability by disrupting access to information or disabling communication. Edited by Marlies Glasius and Marcus Michaelsen, University of Amsterdam, the Special Section brings together nine papers that extend our understanding of the relationship between contemporary forms of authoritarianism and digital communication technologies. The contributions investigate Internet control and censorship, surveillance, and disinformation, presenting insights from China, Russia and Central Asia, Iran, Pakistan, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Western Europe. To access the papers, please go to http://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc. We look forward to your feedback! This publication is a result of the 5-year research project 'Authoritarianism in a Global Age' at the University of Amsterdam. Our project has also just released an animation to share some of our messages with a broader audience: https://youtu.be/n1tXjJobjfs. _____________________________________________________________ Authoritarian Practices in the Digital Age — Introduction Marcus Michaelsen, Marlies Glasius Illiberal and Authoritarian Practices in the Digital Sphere — Prologue Marlies Glasius, Marcus Michaelsen Information, Security, and Authoritarian Stability: Internet Policy Diffusion and Coordination in the Former Soviet Region Jaclyn A. Kerr The Contestation and Shaping of Cyber Norms through China's Internet Sovereignty Agenda Sarah McKune, Shazeda Ahmed Transforming Threats to Power: The International Politics of Authoritarian Internet Control in Iran Marcus Michaelsen Asymmetrical Power Between Internet Giants and Users in China Aofei Lv, Ting Luo Blocking the Bottleneck: Internet Shutdowns and Ownership at Election Times in Sub-Saharan Africa Tina Freyburg, Lisa Garbe Understanding Internet Shutdowns: A Case Study from Pakistan Ben Wagner Through a Glass, Darkly: Everyday Acts of Authoritarianism in the Liberal West Stefania Milan, Arne Hintz Best wishes, Marcus Michaelsen Dr. Marcus Michaelsen Postdoctoral Researcher │Department of Political Sciences University of Amsterdam PO.Box 15578, 1001 NB Amsterdam – The Netherlands UvA-Profile<http://www.uva.nl/en/contact/staff/item/m.michaelsen.html?f=michaelsen> http://www.authoritarianism-global.uva.nl/