Autocracy and Resistance in the Internet Age Autocracy and Resistance in the Internet Age Rachel Vanderhill boulder london Published in the United States of America in 2020 by Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc. 1800 30th Street, Suite 314, Boulder, Colorado 80301 www.rienner.com and in the United Kingdom by Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc. Gray’s Inn House, 127 Clerkenwell Road, London EC1 5DB © 2020 by Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Vanderhill, Rachel, author. Title: Autocracy and resistance in the internet age / Rachel Vanderhill. Description: Boulder, Colorado : Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc., 2020. | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: “Explores in detail how social media are both aiding and undermining autocratic regimes in the Middle East, North Africa, and the former Soviet republics” —Provided by publisher. Identifiers: LCCN 2020024103 | ISBN 9781626378995 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781626379190 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Authoritarianism—Former Soviet republics. | Authoritarianism—Russia (Federation) | Authoritarianism—Middle East. | Internet—Political aspects—Former Soviet republics. | Internet—Political aspects—Russia (Federation) | Internet—Political aspects—Middle East. | Social media—Political aspects—Former Soviet republics. | Social media—Political aspects—Russia (Federation) | Social media—Political aspects—Middle East. Classification: LCC JC480 .V359 2020 | DDC 320.530947—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020024103 British Cataloguing in Publication Data A Cataloguing in Publication record for this book is available from the British Library. Printed and bound in the United States of America The paper used in this publication meets the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials Z39.48-1992. 5  4  3  2  1 Contents Acknowledgments vii 1 The Revolution Will Be Tweeted . . . Or Not? 1 2 Authoritarian Regimes and Information Communication Technology 21 3 Censorship, Surveillance, and Propaganda: The Cases of Iran and Russia 55 4 Protest Without Change: The Cases of Armenia and Moldova 109 5 Regime Overthrow Is Not Democratization: The Cases of Kyrgyzstan and Egypt 155 6 From Protest to Democratization: The Case of Tunisia 209 7 Autocracy in the Internet Age 247 Bibliography 259 Index 281 About the Book 289 v Acknowledgments Many people have contributed to this project over the years. The idea arose while I was teaching about the Arab Spring. Therefore, my first thank you goes to students in my Revolution and Regime Change class at Wheaton College for helping spark the initial questions that led to this book. I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to travel to Tunisia in 2017, which provided invaluable insights. The trip was supported in part by Grant number P016A160042 from the International and Foreign Language Education Office of the US Department of Education and the Provost Office at Wofford College. Special thanks to Phil Dorroll, principal investigator on the grant, for making the trip to Tunisia hap- pen. My host in Tunisia, Mounir Khelifa, and the School of Interna- tional Training (SIT) faculty seminar provided an excellent and intel- lectually stimulating introduction to the politics of Tunisia. The chapter on Tunisia is far better than it would have been otherwise because of their knowledge and the remarkable opportunities they arranged for a group of visiting faculty members (including meeting President Beji Caid Essebsi!). Please note that this book does not necessarily repre- sent the policy or views of the US Department of Education, the US government, or SIT. I deeply appreciate the many various rounds and forms of feedback that I received over the years, especially comments from two anony- mous reviewers. Their thoughts and insights helped produce a clearer vii viii Acknowledgments and, I hope, stronger argument. I am grateful to all the wonderful peo- ple at Lynne Rienner Publishers for their assistance and guidance, including patiently answering multiple questions about the process along the way. Over the course of this multiyear project, I was blessed with sup- port from several wonderful colleagues at Wofford College: Laura Barbas-Rhoden, Christine Dinkins, Kimberly Hall, and Anne Rodrick. They all are remarkable scholars and teachers, and I am deeply hon- ored to have them as colleagues and friends. My dear friend Sandra Joireman was an unfailing source of encouragement on the long, and often challenging, journey of writing and publishing this book. Della Huffines and Emily Witsell provided invaluable help with citations and references: they undertook the often thankless and tedious task of checking and formatting hundreds of citations, enabling me to finish the book on time. Any remaining errors are my responsibility. I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to my family for their unwa- vering faith in me and their enthusiastic encouragement. The shared articles, conversations about cases, and assistance with choosing a title all helped to produce a better book. Moreover, I am deeply grateful to my parents for instilling in me a love of learning that led me to become a scholar and teacher. I am thankful to my sisters, Sarah and Laura, for their friendship and support. This book is dedicated in loving memory to the Reverend George Dale Vanderhill, a wonderful friend, father, and grandfather.