Sospol : Jurnal Sosial Politik
Vol. 12 No. 2 (2026): July-December

Digital Repression and Shrinking Civic Space: A Gendered Computational Socio-Legal Analysis

Fidela Dzatadini Wahyudi (Department of law, Universitas Kristen Cipta Wacana, Indonesia)
Wahyudi (Department of sociology, Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang, Indonesia)
Angger Dimas Bayu Sadewo (Master program of computer science’s student , UIN Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang, Indonesia)
Bayu Dharmala (College of arts University of Nottingham, United Kingdom)



Article Info

Publish Date
11 Aug 2026

Abstract

Digitalization does not automatically expand political freedom in the public space. On the other hand, in various Southeast Asian countries, technological developments have gone hand in hand with increasing state control over citizen expression and the narrowing of civic space. This article analyzes the phenomenon of digital repression in this context through a socio-legal computational approach by utilizing V-Dem and Our World in Data data, as well as integrating the theoretical frameworks of Nancy Fraser and Donatella della Porta. The results of the quantitative analysis show that the decline in the liberal democracy index and freedom of expression correlate with increased civil vulnerability of women, particularly in private digital spaces that are increasingly legally supervised and controlled. Cyber law in this context not only serves as a regulatory instrument, but also as a form of legal weaponization that reinforces gender inequalities in access to security, social recognition, and political representation. On the other hand, social movements did not experience disappearance, but transformed into a more fluid and fragmented form of network-based digital activism under the pressure of digital authoritarianism. The study concludes that civic space in Southeast Asia is not disappearing, but is undergoing restructuring through the complex relationship between

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Journal Info

Abbrev

sospol

Publisher

Subject

Law, Crime, Criminology & Criminal Justice Social Sciences

Description

The Social and Political Research Center (PKSP), Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang proudly presents Journal Sospol (Sospol: Jurnal Sosial Politik). Journal Sospol cordially invites researchers, academicians, and experts to submit research on sociology, ...