Azadeh Akbari

Surveillance in the Majority World Newsletter | February 2026 We share research/stories/podcasts that caught our attention.

Surveillance in the Majority World Newsletter for February 2026 is out!
surveillance-majority-world.net/2026/02/09/s...

Iran’s Case Should Put an End to Illusions About Digital Sovereignty Iran’s case shows why digital sovereignty won’t solve internet shutdowns or unchecked private dominance over digital infrastructure, writes Azadeh Akbari.

www.techpolicy.press/irans-case-s...

Iran: When the internet is shut down, gunfire begins To the International Telecommunication Union and the international Internet community, When the internet is shut down, gunfire begins. People of Iran are once again on the streets, risking their li...

When the internet is shut down in Iran, gunfire begins. Since Jan 8, all connections are cut and families, journalists & activists are unreachable. Protesters are being killed in silence. Internet access is a human right. Please sign and share our letter to the ITU: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Iranian protestors taking down the "regime's eyes"

Iranian protestors taking down the "regime's eyes"

Surveillance in the Majority World Newsletter | January 2026 We share research/stories/podcasts that caught our attention.

📣 Surveillance in the Majority World Newsletter for January 2026 is out!

surveillance-majority-world.net/2026/01/07/s...

🚨Uns fehlen noch 90.000 Euro 🚨

Unterstütze uns mit einer Spende, damit wir uns 2026 mit unverminderter Kraft gegen die autoritäre Wende stemmen können!

netzpolitik.org/digitalfights

We‘re making our entire library of surveillance in the majority world in many languages in Zotero and it‘s the easiest software for any person across the world to immediately start working with it.

My take on Big Tech authoritarianism:

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Surveillance in the Majority World Newsletter | November 2025 We share research/stories/podcasts that caught our attention.

Surveillance in the Majority World Network's November newsletter is out!

surveillance-majority-world.net/2025/11/25/s...

💥 New publication out on the alignment of AI & authoritarianism 💥

We argue that AI is not simply extending, but actively modulating, key dynamics of authoritarianism, and present a flexible analytical framework to account for these changes.

rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

My feed these days:

"We reject the use of generative artificial intelligence for reflexive qualitative research" paper

next to "Open Conference of AI Agents for Qualitative Research 2026"
-The 1st open conference where AI serves as both primary authors and reviewers of research papers-

🤨

Academics are capable of asking some of the dumbest most insensitive questions, a lay person can never dream of.

Call for Abstracts / Panels

PLANETARY SURVEILLANCE

#SSN2026 – the 11th Biennial Surveillance Studies Network Conference

9-12 June 2026

Université Catholique de Lille, France

Details: surveillance-studies.net/conference/

Submissions (open soon): ssn2026.sciencesconf.org

Come work with me: PhD Position In the Working group Critical Data & Surveillance Studies at the Center for Critical Computational Studies (C³S) at Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main, which focuses on geographical, political, and/o...

Come work with me at the wonderful Center for Critical Computational Studies at Goethe University Frankfurt!

You will define your own PhD project within the field of critical data and surveillance studies, with a focus on countries of the Majority World.

azadeh-akbari.com/come-work-wi...

This is getting interesting. Why is it dark anyway?

Is it good? 😅

😳😳😳

The Dark Academia Aesthetic – Outfits, Clothing and Brands - OnPointFresh The Dark Academia Aesthetic is a mysterious, alluring style that has been around for centuries, but has recently been popularized by mass media. Its name may

I was just reading a @theguardian.com column on fashion trends and “core”- and came across dark academia trend! 😳 who would have thought miserable looks can be fashionable?

onpointfresh.com/dark-academi...

The ultimate central Ottawa Foodie Guide My EU Marie Skłodowska-Curie global fellowship was hosted by the University of Ottawa, and I spent a lot of time throughout 2024 and 2025 in this city. My driver’s license was stolen one day before my...

On a Sunday note: here is my ultimate central Ottawa Foodie Guide! As an EU Marie Skłodowska-Curie global fellow at the UOttawa, I spent a lot of time throughout 2024&5 in this city. This guide aims to liberate you from the shackles of Tim Horton & other chains with sad food.

These are important reports + the news about China piloting village surveillance in Solomon Islands; China is exporting comprehensive surveillance packages now with marketing slogans of stability and security. They had done this before with all 'safe' city programs.
www.reuters.com/world/china/...

Read my latest commentary on Big Tech Authoritarianism, which discusses how Big Tech actively constructs authoritarian spaces – both within their organisational structures and across broader socio-political contexts.

doi.org/10.1177/2976...

@dimasamaro.bsky.social

Surveillance in the Majority World Newsletter | July 2025 We share research/stories/podcasts that caught our attention.

📣Surveillance in the Majority world Network's newsletter is out!

Surveillance in the Majority World Newsletter | June 2025 We share research/stories/podcasts that caught our attention.

📣 Surveillance in the Majority World Newsletter for June 2025 is out!

A zoom screenshot: to the right an image of Azadeh who is wearing a white top and to the left is a screenshot of the presentation slide about authoritarian smart city

First speaker is @azadehakbari.bsky.social discussing Authoritarian Smart Cities focusing on the politics of smart cities via digital development dilemma and authoritarianism. Tech is evolving but securitisation continues & we must consider discourse, practices, infrastructures
#DGRGSymposium2025

Peonis make me so happy. They are still not out in Canada…

It‘s just sad to see such techniques being used in a ‘democracy’… I’m watching the protests and I know the US history will change forever if the first bullet is shot…