Rise of Illiberalism: Social Media and Democracy

Yıl 2022, Sayı: 108, 1 - 25, 10.12.2022

Mesut Aslan

https://doi.org/10.36484/liberal.1144043

Öz

Social concepts such as liberalism and democracy have been in constant change since their emergence. Democracies, which appear as liberal democratic regimes today, have difficulties in dealing with current technological developments such as the internet and social media. In our age, the most common type of regime in the international system is democracy. However, widespread democracy has lost its depth in recent years and liberal values tend to regress throughout the system. This trend shows the recent rise of democratic regimes where liberal values are relatively ignored, which is expressed as illiberalism. Despite the technological developments in the field of communication and media, which are considered positive for liberal democracy, the decline of these values in recent years requires an explanation from a different point of view. In this context, the argument that tools such as the internet and social media are not tools that directly contribute to liberal democracy gains traction. This study, which reveals the decline trend with review of various databases on liberal values, also aims to explain the role of modern communication and media tools such as the internet and social media in this decline.

Anahtar Kelimeler

liberal democracy, illiberalism, social media, international system

İlliberalizmin Yükselişi: Sosyal Medya ve Demokrasi

Öz

Liberalizm ve demokrasi gibi sosyal olgular tarihsel süreçte sürekli bir değişim içerisinde olmuştur. Günümüzün liberal demokratik rejimleri internet ve sosyal medya gibi güncel teknolojik gelişmelerle başa çıkmakta zorlanmaktadır. Çağımızda uluslararası sistemde en yaygın rejim türü demokrasidir. Ancak yaygınlaşan demokrasi son yıllarda derinliğini yitirmekte ve liberal değerler sistem genelinde gerileme eğilimi göstermektedir. Bu eğilim, illiberalizm olarak ifade edilen ve liberal değerlerin görece göz ardı edildiği demokratik rejimlerin son yıllardaki yükselişini göstermektedir. Liberal demokrasi için olumlu kabul edilen iletişim ve medya alanında yaşanan teknolojik gelişmelere rağmen son yıllarda söz konusu değerlerin gerilemekte oluşu farklı bir bakış açısından açıklama gerektirmektedir. Bu bağlamda internet ve sosyal medya gibi araçların liberal demokrasiye doğrudan katkı sunan araçlar olmadığı argümanı güç kazanmaktadır. Liberal değerlere ilişkin çeşitli veri tabanları üzerinden yapılan değerlendirmelerle gerileme eğilimini ortaya koyan bu çalışma, ayrıca söz konusu gerilemede internet ve sosyal medya gibi çağımızın modern iletişim ve medya araçlarının rolünü açıklamayı amaçlamaktadır. 

Anahtar Kelimeler

Liberal Demokrasi, illiberalizm, sosyal medya, uluslararası sistem

Kaynakça

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