Empowering activists or autocrats? The Internet in authoritarian regimes
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3918293 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Espen Geelmuyden Rød (0000-0003-1976-6746, Department of Politics and Public Administration, University of Konstanz & Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), corresponding author), Nils B Weidmann (0000-0002-4791-4913, University of Konstanz) |
| Year | 2015 |
| Volume | 52 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 338-351 |
| Publication date | 2015-05-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Peace Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-3433 • E-ISSN: 1460-3578 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0022343314555782 |
| OpenAlex | W2170302519 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 122 |
| References cited | 38 |
The reported role of social media in recent popular uprisings against Arab autocrats has fueled the notion of 'liberation technology', namely that information and communication technology (ICT) facilitates organization of antigovernment movements in autocracies. Less optimistic observers, on the other hand, contend that ICT is a tool of repression in the hands of autocrats, imposing further restrictions on political and social liberties. We investigate whether the liberation- or the repression-technology perspective can better explain empirically observed patterns. To this end, we analyze two outcomes. First, we look at which autocracies are more likely to adopt and expand the Internet. In line with the repression technology expectation, we find that regimes aiming to prevent any independent public sphere are more likely to introduce the Internet. Second, we study the effects of the Internet on changes towards democracy. This analysis reveals no effect of the Internet on political institutions. These findings provide moderate support for the 'repression technology' perspective, and suggest that the Internet has not - at least in its first two decades of existence - contributed to a global shift towards democracy
Authoritarianism · Autocracy · Democracy · Economic system · Economics · Information and Communications Technology · Perspective (graphical) · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Psychological repression · Public relations · Public sphere · Sociology · The Internet · Bangladesh Politics, Society, and Development · Computer Science · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Political Conflict and Governance
Musicians and Their Audience on Russia’s War Against Ukraine
Politik in der digitalen Gesellschaft
Computational International Relations What Can Programming, Coding and Internet Research Do for the Discipline
Trade-Offs and Public Support for Security Reform during Democratic Transitions
The Digital Transformation of the Public Sphere, Its Features in the Context of Various Political Regimes, and Its Possible Influence on Political Processes
Authoritarian Smart City
Telegram as a Means of Political Communication and its use by Russia’s Ruling Elite
Political informing through social media across Europe - factors and effects
Can Authoritarian Electoral Propaganda Compete with the Opposition? Experimental Evidence from Russia
Democratic Backsliding in Africa?
The Art of State Persuasion
Confronting the Caliphate
The Origins of Secular Institutions
Transnational Terrorism and the Internet
The psychology of online activism and social movements
Strategic Censorship? Public Opinion, Authoritarian Politics, and the International Trade Regime
The New Public Address System
Defying Uganda’s morality police
Macht im Cyberspace
Mobilization Momentum and Electoral Results of “Party in Power”
Solidarity under lockdown
A longitudinal study of the bidirectional causal relationships between online political participation and offline collective action
Internet Shutdown and Regime-Imposed Disinformation Campaigns
Politically engaged but unwilling to protest
To Share or Not to Share? How Emotional Judgments Drive Online Political Expression in High-Risk Contexts
Hidden structures of a global infrastructure
Clerics, weightlifters, and politicians
Autocratic power? Energy megaprojects in the age of democratic backsliding
The merits of becoming smart
Internet Control and Disinformation Across Regime Types During and After the Covid‐19 Crisis
Always in control? Sovereign states in cyberspace
Alternative to civil society governance
Emerging media, political protests, and government repression in autocracies and democracies from 1995 to 2012
The Dictator's Digital Toolkit
When Can Citizen Communication Hinder Successful Revolution
Facebook as a Political Marketing Tool in an Illiberal Context. Mapping Political Advertising Activity on Facebook during the 2019 Hungarian European Parliament and Local Election Campaigns
Analogue crisis, digital renewal? Current dilemmas of peacebuilding
The digital blender
Signaling silence
Does political efficacy equally predict news engagement across countries? A multilevel analysis of the relationship among internal political efficacy, media environment and news engagement
How Autocracies Disrupt Unsanctioned Information Flows
Liberation Technology’ or ‘Net Delusion’? Civic Activists’ Perceptions of Social Media as a Platform for Civic Activism in Belarus and Ukraine
Riding the Tide
Reversing the U
Cyber state capacity
Conditional cross-border effects of terrorism in China
Rebel
Mobile phone users as pseudo-brokers in clientelism
When Facebook Is the Internet
Constraints and military coordination
Transnational terrorism and the internet
Information and communication technologies in peacebuilding
Sparking debate? Political deaths and Twitter discourses in Argentina and Russia
Online censorship and digital surveillance
Communication power struggles on social media
Media, information, and political participation
Elections, Protest, and Authoritarian Regime Stability
Peace in Digital International Relations
Access to the Internet and Declining Democracy in Venezuela
Do international rents bolster democratic backsliding under populist governments? Evidence from Latin America
Democratization and Authoritarianism in the Information Age
Dalit Activists Promote Social Change Differently
Only a Moment in Time? The Changing Effectiveness of Mass Mobilization on Transitions to Democracy
Targeting telecommunications
Managing Dissent
Digitale Medien und Kommunikation in der Vergleichenden Politikwissenschaft
How Dictators Control the Internet
We need more clips about Putin, and lots of them
The determinants of democracy
Connect First, then Suppress
Are ICTs Democratizing Dictatorships? New Media and Mass Mobilization
A Psychological Firewall? Risk Perceptions and Public Support for Online Censorship in Russia
Globalizing information networks, social media, and participation
A Techno-Docility Approach to the Repression and Surveillance of Uyghurs
Technology and democracy
Internet Censorship in Authoritarian Contexts
Renewable energy diplomacy and transitions
Illiberal responses to “fake news” in Southeast Asia
Internet, Political Regime and Terrorism
Big Brothers United
The effects of forced versus selective exposure to propaganda in China
Creating Democratic Citizens
Networked” Revolutions? ICTs and Protest Mobilization in Non-Democratic Regimes
A Double-Edge Sword? Mass Media and Nonviolent Dissent in Autocracies
The Volatility of Collective Action
Broadcasting Messages via Telegram
How Social Media Is Changing Conflict
Mass Media and the Diffusion of Collective Action in Authoritarian Regimes
Information, Secrecy, and Civilian Targeting
Differential Effects of Information and Communication Technology on (De-) Democratization of Authoritarian Regimes
Digital Authoritarianism and the Future of Human Rights
Recapturing Regime Type in International Relations
How Authoritarianism Transforms
Parsing the Effect of the Internet on Regime Support in China
Learning democracy digitally? The internet and knowledge of democracy in nondemocracies
How practices of digital authoritarianism harm democracy
From the web to the streets
Autocracy login
Surveil, datafy, publicize
How political regimes affect national cybersecurity
Access Controlled
The Politics of Authoritarian Rule
Access Denied
The effect of the Internet on international trade
Democracy in Plural Societies
Size and Democracy
Totalitarian Dictatorship
Determinants of Democratization
Political Institutions under Dictatorship
Competitive Authoritarianism
The Democratic Effects of the Internet, 1994—2003
Democracy in Plural Societies
Open Networks, Closed Regimes
Open Networks, Closed Regimes
Technology and Collective Action
Testing Novel Implications from the Selectorate Theory of War
Opium for the Masses
Autocratic Breakdown and Regime Transitions
After Egypt
The Internet
Liberation Technology
Liberation Technology
Information Technology Adoption and Political Regimes
The Digital Divide
Remote Control
Credible Power-Sharing and the Longevity of Authoritarian Rule
Authoritarian Institutions and the Survival of Autocrats
What Do We Know About Democratization After Twenty Years
Sources of Popular Support for Authoritarian Regimes
The Game of Electoral Fraud and the Ousting of Authoritarian Rule
Economic Performance and Elite Defection from Hegemonic Parties
Does Oil Hinder Democracy
Armed Conflict 1946-2001
Armed conflicts, 1946-2013
How Censorship in China Allows Government Criticism but Silences Collective Expression
Why Resource-poor Dictators Allow Freer Media
| Unique citing works | 122 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 11,09 |
| Citation span | 2015 - 2026 (12) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | Yes |
| Citation types | Neutral: 113 |