Scanning the Horizon: The Future of Digital Rights & Resilience in the Global Majority

Abstract

This document synthesizes insights from a participatory research initiative conducted between June 2023 and March 2024, engaging members of a global digital rights network and its advisory board. Through interviews with 20 practitioners, complemented by desk research and data analysis, the study maps emerging challenges and opportunities which are set to shape the digital rights and resilience ecosystems over the next decade. Rooted in a Global South perspective, the analysis shows the interdependence of technological evolution, geopolitical shifts, and civil society’s adaptive strategies. The analysis is deployed over three thematic pillars: technical trends (e.g., platform centralization, antitrust dynamics, data localization), geopolitical and local political shifts (e.g., emerging trade blocs, unsustainable public debt, resource scarcity), and transformations in activism (e.g., growing overlap with broader human rights agendas, evolving funder priorities). For each pillar, the document identifies key drivers, contextualizes ongoing trends, and explores plausible scenarios to support readers in developing proactive strategies for these futures. The brief challenges deterministic narratives of the future, underlining instead its malleability and the critical role of civil society in shaping digital governance landscapes. Rather than prescribing solutions, this document invites broader dialogue, aiming to strengthen collective resilience in a period of accelerating change. It is a resource for academics, activists, and government officials seeking to navigate and shape the contested space of digital rights.

Keywords: digital rights, civil society, internet, nonprofits, horizon scanning, global south, global majority, internet centralisation, big tech, BRICS