Social media, activist movements, and state power in Southeast Asia

Pauline Leong provides amusing anecdotes of how politicians in Malaysia use social media, some with more success than others, to influence public opinion, create policy change, and boost their standing. In Vietnam, however, Dien Nguyen An Luong shows that the state is still trying to censor what it deems to be anti-state content on the internet, even though it is slowly realizing that this is an impossible task.

On the other side of the coin, the general public has found innovative and humour-filled ways to use social media as a tool against state power. Yatun Sastramidjaja describes the uniqueness of youth digital protest in Indonesia and across the region, while Quinton Temby examines the pan-Asian activist network the “Milk Tea Alliance” and its influence on pro-democracy activism in the countries in Southeast Asia.

Together, these articles provide insights into the rapidly evolving impact of social media on government, politics, and everyday life in Southeast Asia, a sphere in which memes, humour, and diffusiveness challenge established forms of power.

Su-Ann Oh, Visiting Fellow at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, Managing Editor of SOJOURN, and Regional Editor for The Newsletter, oh_su_ann@iseas.edu.sg