Abstract

The unsuccessful attempts to instigate revolutions against authoritarian regimes in recent decades have demonstrated that, while ICTs possess a substantial potential to facilitate freedom within a democratic milieu, they are often inadequate, and at times counterproductive, in the milieu of an authoritarian regime. This is the “diagnosisµ we propose concerning the relationship between tyrannical power and digital technologies, followed by a suggested “treatmentµ. To avert the scenario wherein digital technologies become instruments of authoritarian drift, a “liberal innovationµ is necessitated: the formulation and implementation of procedures and norms governing the use of technologies, imbued with the spirit of the liberal tradition, could significantly contribute to safeguarding individual liberties and fundamental rights in the digital era (this may be achieved, for instance, through a reimagined framework of the separation of powers). Theorising and implementing a paradigm of “liberal innovationµ could prevent authoritarian deviations in contexts where democracies are either fragile or merely nominal, and might pose challenges to the operation of authoritarian regimes where they are already established.