SUMMARY

As the world has gone increasingly online, digitization has impacted democratic societies and governance structures. Demographic shifts, competing narratives, and technological growth have accelerated globalization, urbanization, wealth displacement, and unprecedented access to information. While this access has given people a voice, increased their freedom of expression, enabled coalition building, and dramatically expanded technological discovery, it has also given rise to digital threats that have impacted the fundamental security and stability of democratic institutions and citizens, including marginalized populations. Based on a comprehensive literature review and conversations with subject matter experts, we have identified nine trends that are likely to pose digital threats to democracy in the future.

This publication aims to identify and define nine driving trends at the intersection of digital systems and democracy. It is part of a broader joint project between the Institute for Security and Technology (IST) and the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) that examines Future Digital Threats to Democracy. A series of two-pagers examining the different trends can be found here.