Work

Internet blackouts and digital authoritarianism: Dissolving and reclaiming protest time and space

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Drawing on qualitative research on internet shutdown during Bangladesh's July uprising, this paper introduces orchestrated digital dissolution—a form of digital authoritarianism that suppresses dissent by strategically withdrawing infrastructures. A layered shutdown dismantled the communicative terrain of protest (infrastructural subtraction) and fractured political time (chronopolitical disruption). Though coordination stalled and repression was masked, mobilisation recomposed through retrospective visibility via diaspora archives and delayed uploads. Uniting spatial, temporal, and affective dimensions, the framework advances debates on shutdowns as governance through absence and time as resistance.

Source: Dialogues on Digital Society

DOI: 10.1177/29768640251381894

Author: Hosna J. Shewly

Institutions: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam

Language: English

Topic: Social Media and Politics

Subfield: Communication

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,400