TY - BOOK
T1 - How Information Disorder Affirms Authoritarianism and Destabilizes Democracy
T2 - Evidence, Trends, and Actionable Mitigation Strategies from Asia and the Pacific
AU - Buehler, Michael
AU - Schatz, Ed
AU - Ali, Sameen Andaleeb Mohsin
AU - Greene, Christopher
AU - Sombatpoonsiri, Janjira
PY - 2022/1/4
Y1 - 2022/1/4
N2 - Democracy has been in decline across Asia and the Pacific for more than 10 years. Information disorder, an environment in which distorted and manipulated information is ubiquitous, is believed to play an important role in affirming authoritarianism and destabilizing democracy across the region. To understand how distorted information is being used to gain and maintain unchecked and unaccountable power in Asia and the Pacific, USAID/Asia Bureau’s Technical Services requested, under the Asia Emerging Opportunities mechanism, an analysis of how information disorder affirms authoritarianism and destabilizes democracy in Asia and the Pacific. In discussing the scope of work with the USAID/Asia Bureau, the research team received guidance that the analysis should present a series of in-depth country case studies that examine if and, if so, how information disorder affirms authoritarianism and destabilizes democracy in Asia and the Pacific. The team approached this question through a series of in-depth country case studies that concentrated on identifying supply- and demand-side factors that contribute to information disorder at the national and subnational levels in four countries in Asia and the Pacific. The case study countries are the Kyrgyz Republic, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, and Thailand. The countries represent regime types ranging from relatively democratic political systems to de facto military dictatorships.
AB - Democracy has been in decline across Asia and the Pacific for more than 10 years. Information disorder, an environment in which distorted and manipulated information is ubiquitous, is believed to play an important role in affirming authoritarianism and destabilizing democracy across the region. To understand how distorted information is being used to gain and maintain unchecked and unaccountable power in Asia and the Pacific, USAID/Asia Bureau’s Technical Services requested, under the Asia Emerging Opportunities mechanism, an analysis of how information disorder affirms authoritarianism and destabilizes democracy in Asia and the Pacific. In discussing the scope of work with the USAID/Asia Bureau, the research team received guidance that the analysis should present a series of in-depth country case studies that examine if and, if so, how information disorder affirms authoritarianism and destabilizes democracy in Asia and the Pacific. The team approached this question through a series of in-depth country case studies that concentrated on identifying supply- and demand-side factors that contribute to information disorder at the national and subnational levels in four countries in Asia and the Pacific. The case study countries are the Kyrgyz Republic, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, and Thailand. The countries represent regime types ranging from relatively democratic political systems to de facto military dictatorships.
KW - Information Disorder
KW - Central Asia
KW - South Asia
KW - Southeast Asia
KW - Pacific
KW - Kyrgyz Republic
KW - Nepal
KW - Thailand
KW - Papua New Guinea
U2 - 10.2139/ssrn.3996805
DO - 10.2139/ssrn.3996805
M3 - Commissioned report
BT - How Information Disorder Affirms Authoritarianism and Destabilizes Democracy
PB - SSRN
ER -