ASPO 25A32 - Democracy and Surveillance

With the revolution in communication and information technology, surveillance has become a permanent feature of everyday life. All of us are subject to surveillance as we use our credit cards, surf the Internet, use social media, make phone calls, walk and drive beneath CCTV cameras, use loyalty cards at the supermarket or simply live in an area with postal code. All this information is stored, sorted and cross-referenced – increasingly using Artificial Intelligence - and even traded by a whole range of state agencies, social networks, Internet providers, banks, online shops, video and audio streaming platforms, search engines, etc. in ways that are opaque and untransparent.

The objective of this module is to explore the development of these new techniques and methods of surveillance and data processing with respect to democracy and individual rights.

The course begins with the analysis of the historical development of ‘surveillance society’ and of the existing theoretical perspectives on surveillance processes and practices. It then moves on to the analysis of the impact of surveillance on different categories of democratic rights and freedoms. It ends with the examination of various attempts to regulate surveillance and data collection, and develop public oversight of different actors engaged in surveillance and data gathering, analysis and trading.

None

Mid-term exam in class: 50% of the final grade

Final exam in class: 50% of the final grade