The DOI matches its Crossref record; 105 of the 109 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The political power of internet business: A comprehensive dataset of Telecommunications Ownership and Control (TOSCO)
Open accessAbstract
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.
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“which explains why there is 'still only one international gateway operator-the stateowned Zambia telecommunications Company Ltd. (Zamtel).' 37”
From Authoritarian collaboration and repression in the digital age: balancing foreign direct investment and control in internet infrastructure (2026) · cites this paper as [37]
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Cites
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“…authoritarian leaders are first and foremost concerned with accumulating political power as well as maintaining the regime in which they operate (Bueno de Mesquita et al., 2003; Geddes et al., 2014), owning shares of telecommunications companies enables the incumbent ruler to implement…”
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Flagged first, then by citations
4 of the 109 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Research works printed but not linked: 5
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How African countries respond to fake news and hate speech
Garbe, L., Selvik, L.-M., & Lemaire, P. (2023) · Information, Communication & Society · doi:10.1080/1369118x.2021.1994623 · Cited by 57
Self-citationThe rise of authoritarian informationalism: escalating surveillance, manipulation, and control
Garbe, L., & Maerz, S. F. (2026) · Democratization · doi:10.1080/13510347.2025.2579105 · Cited by 11
Self-citationGarbe, L., Maerz, S. F., & Freyburg, T. (2026) · Democratization · doi:10.1080/13510347.2024.2442377 · Cited by 8
Self-citationNetwork topology facilitates internet traffic control in autocracies
Keremoğlu, E., Weidmann, N. B., Gamero-Garrido, A., Carisimo, E., Dainotti, A., & Snoeren, A. C. (2024) · PNAS Nexus · doi:10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae069 · Cited by 3
Rerouting Geopolitics: Narratives and the Political Power of Communications
Gillwald, A. N., & Wavre, V. (2023) · Global transformations in media and communication/Global transformations in media and communication research · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-29616-1_2 · Cited by 2
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Metadata
- Authors
- Freyburg, T., Garbe, L., & Wavre, V.
- Affiliations
- University of St.Gallen (CH)
- WZB Berlin Social Science Center (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Freyburg, Tina
- Venue
- The Review of International Organizations
- Published
- 2022-12-07
- Volume
- 18
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 573-600
- ISSN
- 1559-7431 (ISSN-L)
- 1559-744X
- OpenAlex
- W4311707459
- Cited by
- 9
- References
- 109
- Citations by year
- 2025: 6 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1
- FWCI
- 0.78
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- The Review of International Organizations (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Alexandria (UniSG) (University of St.Gallen) (submittedVersion)
- Econstor (Econstor) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Social Science Open Access Repository (GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Swiss Network for International Studies
- University of St.Gallen (CH), Basic Research Funds
- University of St.Gallen
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › ICT Impact and Policies
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Media Influence and Politics
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Cybersecurity and Cyber Warfare Studies
- Keywords
- internet service providers, ownership structure, internet infrastructure, corruption, Africa, information and communication technologies
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