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 and migration networks across 189 countries between 2000 and 2010. We find that different digital technologies may have varying impacts on freedom while affecting its diffusion via different political networks, and that related changes in civil liberties can be affected by both media freedom and internal political institutions. Our analysis suggests three key mechanisms linking information technology with democratic change and highlights the importance of a country's “susceptibility” to political influence that is triggered by greater digitally induced visibility.

► New data and modeling permits analysis of the co-evolution of digital access, democracy and trade tie formation.
► Civil liberties and media freedom show a consistently positive relationship with both mobile and Internet access density.
► Mobile penetration density has a more significant impact on civil liberties than Internet access density.
► High mobile density levels increase a country's “susceptibility” to democratic changes in neighboring nations.
► Traditional Internet access may be a technology of control rather than facilitating transparency and coordination.