State Repression in the Digital Age

Professor of International and Cyber Security at the Hertie School Anita Gohdes will be hosting a virtual presentation on some of what she's uncovered while working on her forthcoming book on how states leverage digital technologies and networks and how this manipulation interacts with their acts of violent repression. Her work focuses on the two main digital tools states weaponize against their citizens: internet shutdowns and digital surveillance. For her current project, Gohdes has deeply researched the link between internet accessibility and state violence in Syria, and is additionally analyzing four case studies in which governments (in China, Ethiopia, Bahrain, and Egypt) weaponize these tools against their populations. Her study will conclude by detailing the evidence of the global scale and pervasiveness of these issues.