Digital Authoritarianism and the Global Technology Industry

Evidence from Iran

Bibliographic Data

ID6267486
AuthorsDara Conduit (0000-0002-1585-4346, The University of Melbourne, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume60
Issue3
Pages751-772
Publication date2025-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGovernment and Opposition (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0017-257X • E-ISSN: 1477-7053
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/gov.2024.31
OpenAlexW4406093929
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited49

The purchase of commercial spyware by at least 43 authoritarian states has drawn attention to the links between the international private technology trade and autocrats. This article sits at the intersection of the literatures on the international relations of authoritarian regimes, digital authoritarianism and the political economy of authoritarianism, asking, what impacts, if any, do the foreign technology trade relations of authoritarian regimes have on authoritarian resilience? Building a four-mechanism model to explain the interaction between the private technology trade and digital authoritarianism, the article then tests the model on a case study of Iran. It argues that while global technology companies lack the ideological or geopolitical interests that drive the engagement between authoritarian regimes and foreign states, an intense overlap in interests still exists between profit-hungry private technology companies and technology-hungry regimes. This facilitates the establishment of mutually beneficial relationships that contribute to authoritarian resilience and survival, however inadvertently

Authoritarianism · Democracy · Economic system · Economics · Geopolitics · Ideology · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Resilience (materials science · Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance · Law · Political Conflict and Governance · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access