  Deliberation and communication within the national space have had numerous
implications on how citizens online and offline perceive government. It has
also impacted the relationship between opposition and incumbent governments in
the Indo-Pacific region. Authoritarian regimes have historically had control
over the dissemination of information, thereby controlling power and limiting
challenges from citizens who are not comfortable with the status quo. Social
media and blogs have allowed citizens of these countries to find a way to
communicate, and the exchange of information continues to rise. The quest by
both authoritarian and democratic regimes to control or influence the
discussion in the public sphere has given rise to concepts like cybertroopers,
congressional bloggers, and commentator bloggers, among others. Cybertroopers
have become the de facto online soldiers of authoritarian regimes who must
embrace democracy. While commentator and congressional bloggers have acted with
different strategies, commentator bloggers educate online citizens with
knowledgeable information to influence the citizens. Congressional bloggers are
political officeholders who use blogging to communicate their positions on
ongoing national issues. Therefore, this work has explored various concepts
synonymous with the Indo-Pacific public sphere and how it shapes elections and
democracy.
