Start Date
14-12-2012 12:00 AM
Description
We examine the effects of digital access on the prevalence of democracy and its diffusion via trade, geographical, migration and foreign-direct investment (FDI) networks across 189 countries between 2000 and 2010. We find that changes in civil liberties due to digital access can be mediated by both media freedom and internal political institutions, and that different digital technologies may have varying impacts while affecting the diffusion of democracy via different economic and political networks. Our analysis uncovers three key mechanisms linking information technology with democratic change and highlight the importance of a country’s “susceptibility” to economic influence that is triggered by greater digitally-induced visibility.
Recommended Citation
Rhue, Lauren and Sundararajan, Arun, "Digital Access, Political Networks and the Diffusion of Democracy" (2012). ICIS 2012 Proceedings. 10.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2012/proceedings/EconomicsValue/10
Digital Access, Political Networks and the Diffusion of Democracy
We examine the effects of digital access on the prevalence of democracy and its diffusion via trade, geographical, migration and foreign-direct investment (FDI) networks across 189 countries between 2000 and 2010. We find that changes in civil liberties due to digital access can be mediated by both media freedom and internal political institutions, and that different digital technologies may have varying impacts while affecting the diffusion of democracy via different economic and political networks. Our analysis uncovers three key mechanisms linking information technology with democratic change and highlight the importance of a country’s “susceptibility” to economic influence that is triggered by greater digitally-induced visibility.