REVIEW: "INFOCRACY: DIGITALIZATION AND THE CRISIS OF DEMOCRACY" BY BYUNG-CHUL HAN

Abstract

The present work reviews Byung-Chul Han's book "Infocracy: Digitalization and the Crisis of Democracy," which seeks to understand the impacts of digital technologies on democracy. In this context, it is argued that digitalization and data control have established an "information regime" that surpasses Michel Foucault's disciplinary regime. The author discusses how massive data collection, information manipulation, and coerced communication weaken democracy, replacing rational debate with "affective communication." This turns politics into an "information war" dominated by algorithms and influencers, eliminating space for critical discourse and collective learning. The crisis of truth in the digital age is also addressed, where the viral spread of fragmented and unverified information undermines social cohesion and public trust. Thus, based on the analysis of Byung-Chul Han's work, it is concluded that it is essential to rethink the relationship between technology and democracy to prevent digitalization from weakening fundamental democratic values and compromising the space for public deliberation.