Download full text
(external source)
Citation Suggestion
Please use the following Persistent Identifier (PID) to cite this document:
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11558-022-09483-z
Exports for your reference manager
The political power of internet business: A comprehensive dataset of Telecommunications Ownership and Control (TOSCO)
[journal article]
Abstract The 'internet' - familiar shorthand for information and communication technologies (ICT) - is built on a physical infrastructure owned by a variety of state and private actors, foreign and domestic, with multiple interests. It has not only driven change on a global scale; its spread also had a profo... view more
The 'internet' - familiar shorthand for information and communication technologies (ICT) - is built on a physical infrastructure owned by a variety of state and private actors, foreign and domestic, with multiple interests. It has not only driven change on a global scale; its spread also had a profound impact on the social sciences. However, our understanding of how its architecture, and especially its owners, influence its political and economic impact is still in its infancy. This paper presents the Telecommunications Ownership and Control (TOSCO) dataset on ownership of internet service providers (ISPs) that allows to recognize the internet as strategically built and used by governments and corporations. Along with a thorough discussion of the conceptualization and operationalization of ownership as a variable, the TOSCO dataset enables comparative large-N analysis of the determinants and effects of varying ownership structures and identities in the transforming context of 49 African countries, 2000-2019. We demonstrate its usefulness with descriptive statistics and regression analyses using replication data from research on the internet's democratizing and corruption-reducing effects. In allowing for a more realistic account, TOSCO supports scholars and practitioners concerned with the determinants and effects of internet service provision, use and control in Africa and beyond.... view less
Keywords
Internet; repression; democratization; corporate governance
Classification
International Relations, International Politics, Foreign Affairs, Development Policy
Free Keywords
owner identity
Document language
English
Publication Year
2023
Page/Pages
p. 573-600
Journal
The Review of International Organizations, 18 (2023)
ISSN
1559-744X
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed