Platformization, Digital Disinformation and Non-Democratic Politics: Belarus in Comparative Perspective

The promise of the Internet to foster democratic bottom-up participation of civil society in political decision-making processes has been widely questioned at least since the Arab Spring counterrevolutions. It has become even more scrutinized after the digital platforms were widely appropriated by populist discourses and by digital disinformation strategies, including in democracies. The increasingly platformized media infrastructures have been used not only for deliberative democratic practices of bottom-up or horizontal communication, but also for non-democratic purposes of political disinformation and strategic polarisation, exemplified by Covid-19 denialism or the disinformation campaign during the 2016 US election. This Summer School will explore both the consequences of digital platforms’ omnipresence in non-democracies, with a special focus on Belarus, as well as the anti-democratic aspects of digital developments in democracies, such as digital disinformation. This conceptual and empirical multi-sited focus on the transformation of the political realm due to platformization will provide a comparative framework for the dialogue among academic scholars, sectoral experts, civic activists, and students of all levels.

Course leader

Dr. Siarhei Liubimau

Target group

Applications are accepted from practitioners and students of all levels in fields of sociology, political studies, journalism, anthropology, STS, media studies, urban studies, culture studies, history, philosophy, gender studies, design, art and multimedia.

Course aim

Learning outcomes:
Lectures on the political dimension of infrastructures and digital platforms
Lectures on digital disinformation
Skills of analytical work with activists’ and organisations’ real-life dilemmas in Belarus and other non-democracies
Skills of data-driven analysis of social media audience and impact
A block of lectures on contemporary Belarusian society, culture and politics
Guided development of individual and joint projects

Credits info

3 EC
3 ECTS are granted to participants who deliver final project.

Fee info

EUR 25: Participation fee includes meals and cultural program. Accommodation and travel are to be organised by the participants individually. Participants will be offered an opportunity to reside in EHU student dormitory at a reasonable price.
EUR 300: Participation fee includes meals and cultural program. Accommodation and travel are to be organised by the participants individually. Participants will be offered an opportunity to reside in EHU student dormitory at a reasonable price.

Scholarships

BA and MA students from German universities can apply for DAAD Go East stipend.
Students from universities participating in OSUN Experimental Humanities Collaborative Network can apply for stipend covering fee, travel and accommodation in Vilnius.