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The ties that bind: Internet communication technologies, networked authoritarianism, and ‘voice’ in the Syrian diaspora
Abstract
Internet communication technologies (ICTs) enable diasporas to act transnationally by facilitating ties to their places of origin and providing low-cost ways to mobilize against home-country regimes. However, studies neglect to address how ICTs globalize regimes’ methods of social control and impact anti-regime diasporas. In order to investigate the operation and effects of what I call digitally-enabled transnational repression, this study analyzes data that include original interviews with pro-revolution Syrian activists based in the US and Britain. The findings demonstrate that the presence and tactics of pro-regime agents online during the onset of Syria’s 2011 uprising (i) eroded respondents’ transnational ties and (ii) deterred many from using ICTs to contest the Assad regime. The study shows how networked authoritarianism mitigates diaspora members’ voices and tactics during periods of violent unrest, which is precisely when ICT-enabled activism can aid home-country movements in significant ways. I conclude by discussing implications for the study of authoritarian regimes, diasporas, and transnational dynamics of contention.
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“For these reasons, authoritarian states strive to destroy the links between domestic opponents of the regime and international activists (Cooley and Heathershaw 2018; Michaelsen 2018; Moss 2018; Tsourapas 2021).”
From The Long Arm and the Iron Fist: Authoritarian Crackdowns and Transnational Repression (2024) · cites this paper as Moss 2018
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“but the tools of globalization allow authoritarian states to pursue it with a broader scope and deeper reach than previously (see Moss 2018).”
From The Long Arm and the Iron Fist: Authoritarian Crackdowns and Transnational Repression (2024) · cites this paper as Moss 2018
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Metadata
- Authors
- Moss, D. M.
- Affiliations
- University of Pittsburgh (US)
- Corresponding author
- Moss, Dana M.
- ORCID
- Moss, Dana M.
- Venue
- Globalizations
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2016-12-15
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 265-282
- ISSN
- 1474-7731 (ISSN-L)
- 1474-774X
- OpenAlex
- W2567051485
- Cited by
- 181
- References
- 91
- Citations by year
- 2026: 15 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 49 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 50 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 4
- FWCI
- 14.98
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Globalizations (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation’s Doctoral Dissertation Improvement (1433642)
- University of California
- Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies’ Research Award
- Center for the Study of Democracy
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Demography › Diaspora, migration, transnational identity
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Middle East Politics and Society
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts
- Keywords
- Syrian diaspora, transnational repression, internet communication technologies, digital activism, transnational relations, social control, diaspora mobilization, authoritarian regimes
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