DescriptionThis dissertation investigates digital democracy and authoritarianism in Pakistan, particularly under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan Niazi. It examines varied means of participatory engagement in Pakistan’s virtual politics and identifies modes of state repression typically masked by the positive global branding of Naya Pakistan. Through multi-modal social media and print media content analyses from 2012 to 2021, it probes Pakistan’s complex media history and contemporary relationship with critical journalism as more citizens move online for a source of alternative media. It documents how the Pakistani diaspora has been mobilized by Khan’s astute Internet campaigns to participate financially and electorally in Pakistani politics in support of his party, the Pakistani Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), and other causes he endorses. It also explores how women’s rights activists and peripheral ethnic minorities use social media to advance contentious political claims and traces the effects of these efforts on political debates and activity within the nation. My research demonstrates how proponents and supporters of state nationalism are rewarded in online spaces, while critical voices are silenced, shamed, and framed in ways that promote violent backlash against them. Despite censorship concerns, progressive activists turn to social media platforms to create a vibrant public sphere characterized by critical discussions of democratic politics and national belonging.