(iPoster) Eyes Everywhere: Mapping Global Networks of Contemporary Surveillance Technologies

• In Event: Poster Sessions: Frontiers in International Political Economy & Advanced Industrial Societies
  In Poster Session: Poster Session: Frontiers in International Political Economy

Abstract

While the international market for contemporary surveillance goods has grown substantially in recent years, there has been little academic attention dedicated to understanding what drives variation in the procurement and adoption of surveillance technology. Contemporary surveillance technologies are increasingly accessible, but states vary considerably in whether, when, from whom, and how extensively they procure them. This paper asks: What national, bilateral, and international factors inform states’ decisions to purchase contemporary surveillance technology? Drawing on a novel dataset documenting over 2,500 surveillance technology transfers from 2000-2025, I identify three political factors that are central to global procurement patterns. First, democratic governance is associated with reduced adoption through both reduced procurement volume and, at higher levels of democratic consolidation, reduced market activity altogether. This relationship is partly explained by democracies’ reduced social media monitoring practices. Second, states’ domestic security environments independently shape procurement; terrorism, one-sided rebel violence, and non-state violence are each associated with a higher likelihood of procurement, while ethnic fractionalization is associated with higher procurement volume. Third, regime type is associated with variation in how states respond to security crises; hybrid regimes increase procurement specifically in light of the violent threats of terrorism or rebel violence against civilians, a pattern that is absent among consolidated democracies and autocracies alike.

Author

• Amelia Cristina Arsenault, Cornell University