How Has Social Media Impacted Dictatorships?

For years, policymakers and pundits alike have predicted that dictatorships will collapse under the power of the internet and social media. But Evgeny Morozov, author of The Net Delusion and a former Open Society Fellow, warns us to reject the hype. The internet, he says, is an uncontrollable and inherently political medium that will frustrate those who believe democracy can be promoted with the push of a button. 

At a recent panel discussion, Morozov was joined by Anne Nelson of the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs and Stephen M. Walt, Robert and Renée Belfer Professor of International Affairs at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. They explored whether repressive governments have actually benefited from the web and what activists need to know to avoid the mistakes of the past.

Watch the event above.