Platformisation, Political Change and Democracy in Southeast Asia – for a Labour Turn in Digital Media Studies

Bibliographic Data

ID24217797
AuthorsWolfram Schaffar (0000-0002-3661-3226, University of Passau)
Year2026
Pages1-17
Publication date2026-10-05
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueTRaNS Trans -Regional and -National Studies of Southeast Asia (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2051-364X • E-ISSN: 2051-3658
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/trn.2026.10028
OpenAlexW7220395305
LanguageEN
References cited38

In this paper, I examine the relationship between increasing digitalisation and platformisation on one side, and political mobilisation and political change in Southeast Asia on the other. Southeast Asia presents a particularly instructive case, as the penetration of social media and digital platforms is highly advanced — among the highest in the world — while political systems are undergoing dynamic transformations. I begin with a discussion of earlier conceptual approaches, characterising their explanatory strategies as either endogenous or exogenous. Highlighting the shortcomings of both types of approaches, I argue that labour — specifically, working conditions and the changing basis of material reproduction — should be placed at the centre of study and taken as the primary point of departure. The Italian theoretical school of Operaism (workerism), along with recent developments in this field, offers valuable insights. In the final part of the paper, I present preliminary findings from an ongoing empirical research project, which shed light on the implications of the approaches discussed in the preceding sections. Adopting this labour-oriented perspective in digital media studies has theoretical implications for the concept of techno-environments as well as for area studies more broadly.

Democracy · digital platforms · digitalization · labour · material reproduction · platformization · Political mobilization · political transition · Social media · Southeast asia · workerism · working conditions · Digital Economy and Work Transformation · Media and Digital Communication · Social Media and Politics

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access