Tech & Society Debate «Polarization, New Technology and the Threat of the New Authoritarianisms» with Fernando Vallespín
Aspen Institute España and Fundación Telefónica will host the fourth and last debate session of the IX edition of the Tech & Society Program with Fernando Vallespín, Political Science Professor at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), as a speaker. The session will be on Wednesday, December 3rd and is titled «Polarization, New Technology and the Threat of the New Authoritarianisms».
Polarization, New Technology and the Threat of the New Authoritarianisms
The purpose of the lecture is to establish a connection between the development of new technologies and politics, with particular emphasis on their capacity to reconfigure—and distort—democracy. In this regard, we will highlight two aspects that already display worrying signs. First, the subjection of political communication to new forms of manipulation and stimulation of public opinion, which are one of the main causes of the high levels of polarization we are witnessing; and second, the enthronement of the major platforms as new spheres of power which, through their control over the circulation of information and communication, evade traditional institutional mechanisms of political oversight and may already be foreshadowing a gradual shift toward new forms of authoritarianism.
Fernando Vallespín Oña
Fernando Vallespín Oña is an Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the Autonomous University of Madrid, the university where he has carried out nearly his entire academic career, and where he has held positions such as Vice-Rector for Culture, Director of the Department of Political Science, and Director of the Center for Political Theory. He was a postdoctoral Fulbright Fellow at Harvard University and a visiting professor at the universities of Frankfurt, Heidelberg, and Dresden in Germany—where he completed several research stays—as well as at the universities of Veracruz and Malaysia. He has published more than a dozen books and well over a hundred academic articles and book chapters in Spanish and international journals, with a particular focus on contemporary political theory. His most recent book is Judith Shklar y el liberalismo del miedo (Trotta, 2025). He has served as President of the Center for Sociological Research (CIS) and Director of the Ortega y Gasset Research Institute, President of the Spanish Political Science Association, and member of the Executive Council of the International Political Science Association. He is a full member of the Royal Academy of Political and Moral Sciences and Director of Revista de Occidente. He is also a regular contributor to the newspaper El País.
IX Edition of the Tech & Society Program
The Tech & Society Program has become Spain’s leading forum for reflecting on the major issues raised by the advancement of digital technology. The 9th edition will bring together various leaders from all sectors of civil society to debate new technological challenges and their impact on diverse fields such as human relations, politics, education, culture, the economy, and medicine.
