Replication Data for: Repression Technology: Internet Accessibility and State Violence

This article offers a first subnational analysis of the relationship between states’ dynamic control of Internet access and their use of violent repression. I argue that where governments provide Internet access, surveillance of digital information exchange can provide intelligence which enables the use of more targeted forms of repression, in particular in areas not fully controlled by the regime. Increasing restrictions on Internet accessibility can impede opposition organization, but limits access to information on precise targets, resulting in an increase in untargeted repression. I present new data on killings in the Syrian conflict that distinguish between targeted and untargeted events, using supervised text classification. I find that higher levels of Internet accessibility are associated with increases in targeted repression, whereas areas with limited access experience more indiscriminate campaigns of violence. The results offer important implications on how governments incorporate the selective access to communication technology into their strategies of coercion.

本文首次开展次国家层面（subnational）的分析，探讨各行政辖区对互联网接入的动态管控与暴力镇压行为之间的关联。本文提出核心论点：当政府开放互联网接入时，对数字信息交互的监控可获取有效情报，从而支撑更具针对性的镇压行动，这一效应在政权尚未完全掌控的区域尤为显著。日益收紧的互联网接入限制虽可阻碍反对派的组织活动，却也会令当局难以获取精准打击目标的相关信息，进而导致无差别镇压行为增多。本文借助监督文本分类（supervised text classification）技术，构建了叙利亚冲突中杀戮事件的全新数据集，可对针对性与无差别两类事件进行区分。研究结果显示：互联网接入水平越高的区域，针对性镇压行为的发生率显著提升；而接入受限的区域则更易出现无差别暴力行动。本研究结果对于政府如何将选择性开放通信技术纳入其胁迫战略具有重要启示意义。