Digital Politics: Eurasia in the Global Context

2025/2026

Academic Year

ENG

Instruction in English

Delivered at:

Department of Political Science and International Affairs

Course type:

Elective course

When:

2 year, 1, 2 module

Instructor

Kabanov, Yury

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The Internet and politics have a complex interrelationship. The former changes social communication, empowers or reinforces political actors, while political regime and power relations frequently shape the dynamics of cyberspace. The course introduces students to the field of Digital Politics and equips them with theoretical models to critically address the development of modern technologies. During the course we will discuss such topics as the influence of online media on political participation, the impact of AI and algorithms on governance and politics, digital government, as well as the debates on global internet governance. Special emphasis will be placed on the dynamics of digital politics in Eurasia.

Learning Objectives

• To overview the Internet as the political space, globally and in particular regions of interest
• To familiarize students with the contemporary research on the Internet Studies in relation to politics and governance

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Applies the theories of comparative authoritarianism to the analysis of the political and social processes on the Internet
• Describes the peculiarities of the Internet development and governance in the regions of specialization
• Enumerates and describes the major tools of the Internet regulation in non-democracies
• Defines and applies the models of the Internet policy and governance
• Applies the theories of Political Science to the analysis of the impact of the Internet on Politics

Course Contents

• How to Think about Digital Politics: Key Concepts and Models
• The Internet and Political Participation
• Surveillance, Dataveillance and Algorithmic Governance
• Democratic Innovations. E-Participation
• Digital Transformation of Public Administration: E-Government
• Global Internet Governance

Assessment Elements

• Class Activities
  The lecturer evaluates students' participation in seminar discussions and other activities, their preparation for the seminars
• Team Presentation
  During the final seminars students will discuss particular cases of the Internet Politics development. For the assignment, students need to form a group of 3-4 students, choose a country of interest and a topic. The presentation should be 20 minutes maximum. Students may choose a topic from the list or suggest their own topic (upon prior consultation with the lecturer).
• Test
  The test is conducted at the final seminar of the course. The duration of the test is 80 minutes. The test consists of two parts: A - 11 multiple choice questions (11 points in total), 3 open questions (9 points in total).
• Examination
  The exam conducted in the format of an interview with a student. A student is given a card with 2 topics and 20 minutes to prepare his / her answer. In 20 minutes student is supposed to present his / her answer. The lecturer has the right to ask additional questions within the topics of the card.

Interim Assessment

• 2025/2026 2nd module
  0.25 * Class Activities + 0.25 * Examination + 0.25 * Team Presentation + 0.25 * Test

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Deibert, R. (2013). Black Code : Surveillance, Privacy, and the Dark Side of the Internet. Toronto: Signal. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=743006
• Johnny Ryan. (2010). A History of the Internet and the Digital Future. Reaktion Books.
• R., B. P. (2016). Political Internet : State and Politics in the Age of Social Media. Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge India. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1409908
• The logic of connective action : Digital media and the personalization of contentious politics. (2012). Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.EA6634C5
• Venkataswamy, S. (2013). William H. Dutton (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Internet Studies. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.4DDAED5B

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• 9783110669701 - Gabriele Balbi; Andreas Fickers - History of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) : Transnational Techno-diplomacy From the Telegraph to the Internet - 2020 - De Gruyter - http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=2499098 - nlebk - 2499098
• Can the internet promote democracy? A cross-country study based on dynamic panel data models. (2017). Information Technology for Development. https://doi.org/10.1080/02681102.2017.1289889

Authors

• Kabanov Iurii Andreevich