Abstract
The emergence of digital media has allowed for individual citizens to attempt to usurp elite messages, and shift the course of events of politics, but recent scholarship is concerned with the ability of digital media to lead to greater sectarianism. In this presentation, Dr Ross Tapsell will explain how digital media is becoming a key ‘battlefield’ between large, powerful oligarchs and ordinary citizens looking to bring about rapid and meaningful change. As internet penetration rises, the future of democracy in Southeast Asia and pluralistic society will increasingly depend on how certain groups and actors manage and adapt to the emergence of new, digital technologies.
Dr Ross Tapsell is Director of the ANU Malaysia Institute, Australian National University. He is the author of Media Power in Indonesia: Oligarchs, Citizens and the Digital Revolution and co-editor of Digital Indonesia: Connectivity and Divergence. He has been a Visiting Fellow at The University of Indonesia (Jakarta), Airlangga University (Surabaya) and Indiana University (Bloomington, US). Dr Tapsell has previously worked in Indonesia with The Jakarta Post and the Lombok Post.
