Digital Repression: On the Timing of Internet Shutdowns in Africa

• In Event: OK Computer: Conflict Processes in the Information Age

Abstract

When do governments shut down the internet? States can choose from a menu of repressive tactics, including armed force, arrests, and surveillance in the face of a perceived threat. It is not yet clear when they specifically choose to limit or deny access to the internet, though several studies have begun to consider this (Howard and Hussein 2013, Rydzak unpublished). Using a cross-national event dataset of instances of denial of internet access between 1995-2016 in Africa, I evaluate the conditions under which governments use this form of repression as opposed to others. Focusing on mobilization that does not rise to the level of sustained, organized, and armed conflict, I use the Social Conflict in Africa dataset to evaluate the timing of internet shutdowns, and whether shutdowns occurs in conjunction with other forms of repression.

Author

• Jessica Steinberg, Indiana University- International Studies