My research project at a glance (original) (raw)

Democracy does not disappear in a day. However, it can erode slowly fading from sight like a dissolving sandcastle. This what has happened to democracy in Russia and Belarus over the past twenty years. In the age of fake news, political polarisation and Donald Trump, other countries that we call democracies are at risk of repeating this fate. How can active citizens resist the erosion of democracy? My answer comes from the case studies of Russia and Belarus, where censorship, governmental propaganda and networks of bots have been part of everyday life for many years. I study how political activists in these two countries fight for democratic freedoms using social media. I travelled across Russia and Belarus to meet activists, to talk to them and to see their work and life. I also collected and analysed the textual and visual materials created by them. I did this to understand how activists overcome obstacles imposed by the state and large media corporations: how they disseminate information, unite their followers and organise protests. I focus on such cases as the anti-corruption campaign of Alexei Navalny in Russia and the anti-tax campaign in Belarus. My study identifies several pro-democracy practices that are potentially successful in the digital age: • Firstly, political activists need to constantly develop their creative skills and communication competencies. • Secondly, they need to stay in touch with their audience both when they are campaigning and when there is no ongoing activity. • Thirdly, activists should try to stay one step ahead of the government, learning how to use new technologies before the governmental propaganda machine tackles those technologies. These, along with other approaches and practices, help activists in non-democratic countries to engage with people and to generate hope for the future. These practices also might aid active citizens in their resistance to the erosion of democracy in any other place.