Digital World as a Theatre of War: Political Performativity and Digital Strategies under Authoritarianism

Abstract

This article examines how performative forms of digital communication contribute to the production and normalization of political reality under authoritarian and hybrid political conditions, with Georgia as the primary contextual frame. Drawing on Michel Foucault’s theories of productive power and governmentality, Erika Fischer-Lichte’s performance theory, and Branislav Jakovljević’s analysis of event, script, and actors in the theatre of war, the study combines conceptual analysis with in-depth interviews with seven experts in political science, cybersecurity, media and communication, international relations, human rights, social psychology, and performing arts. The thematic analysis identified six interconnected mechanisms: Performative Camouflage, perceived authenticity and trust formation, affective activation, audience co-production, algorithmic amplification, and normalization of political reality. The article introduces Performative Camouflage to describe the circulation of politically consequential meanings through communicative forms that may appear personal, professional, cultural, educational, protective, or otherwise not primarily political. The findings suggest that digital political influence emerges through recursive interactions among performers, audiences, platforms, affect, and unequal communicative resources rather than through isolated messages alone. The study distinguishes political function from unverified strategic intention or organizational coordination and emphasizes the ambivalence of digital participation, which can support both political control and democratic resistance. It proposes the Digital Theatre of War as an analytical model for examining these processes.