Her research focuses on the diffusion of digital-authoritarian practices in Southeast Asia. Centered on multidimensional linkages with the People’s Republic of China, the PhD project investigates how political, economic, technological, and societal ties act as transnational drivers of the rise of digital authoritarianism in the region. Particular emphasis is placed on the causal mechanisms through which linkage relations with an authoritarian great power influence the adoption of digital surveillance, censorship, and disinformation across different regime types. Against this backdrop, the project seeks to explain regional variation and causal patterns in the emergence of digital-authoritarian practices and to identify the transnational channels through which they diffuse. By examining the external dimensions of digital autocratization, the research is situated at the intersection of comparative politics, international relations, and human rights.
Lea Wölfel, M.A.: Digital Authoritarianism in Southeast Asia
