Authoritarian Regimes Forge Strategic Alliances to Expand Internet Infrastructure Without Sacrificing Control

Authoritarian Regimes Forge Strategic Alliances to Expand Internet Infrastructure Without Sacrificing Control

(IN BRIEF) Prof. Dr. Tina Freyburg’s study, published by IPW-HSG, explores the dilemma faced by authoritarian regimes in expanding internet infrastructure while preventing its use as a tool for dissent. The research demonstrates that these regimes often secure FDI in the internet sector from other authoritarian states, ensuring that investments help broaden digital access yet simultaneously enable state control and repression. The findings highlight that when an internet provider is majority-owned by an authoritarian investor, monitoring, censorship, and overall online control become easier for the host regime. The study also reveals that regimes routinely use tactics such as deliberate internet shutdowns during elections or protests, with similar patterns observed in nations like the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, and Russia. By scrutinizing the interplay between investor origin, ownership configurations, and state repression, Freyburg’s work emphasizes the need for robust global measures to protect digital freedoms and calls on international tech companies to critically assess the political implications of their infrastructure investments.

(PRESS RELEASE) ST. GALLEN, 11-Apr-2025 — /EuropaWire/ — A recent study by political scientist Prof. Dr. Tina Freyburg from the University of St.Gallen examines how authoritarian regimes tackle a fundamental challenge in today’s digital world: expanding internet infrastructure while maintaining tight control over it. According to the study, published by IPW-HSG, the internet drives economic growth by enhancing business operations, accelerating communications, and improving government services. However, these same benefits can empower citizens by enabling free information exchange, idea sharing, and protest organization—all of which can threaten regimes that rely on repression to stay in power.

In the study titled “Authoritarian collaboration and repression in the digital age: balancing foreign direct investment and control in internet infrastructure,” Freyburg and her co-authors reveal that authoritarian governments address this dilemma by strategically collaborating with like-minded states. They find that foreign direct investment (FDI) in the internet service sector is often sourced from other authoritarian countries. These investments are not made solely to support digital expansion; rather, they serve a dual purpose. When an internet provider becomes majority-owned by an authoritarian investor, it creates a situation where the host regime can more easily monitor, censor, and control online activity, thereby facilitating repression.

The research, conducted as part of a multi-year project at the Institute of Political Science (IPW-HSG) at the University of St.Gallen, highlights how investor origin and the ownership structure of internet providers are closely linked to state repression. The study documents instances where authoritarian investors enable greater control over digital infrastructures, allowing regimes to deploy tools such as internet shutdowns to stifle dissent, as seen in countries like the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, and Russia. Ulrich Schmid, Professor of Russian Culture and Society at the University of St. Gallen, observed in an op-ed for NZZ that modern-day communication suppression in Russia resembles Soviet-era jamming, with foreign social media platforms being blocked or slowed down to hinder access.

Prof. Freyburg’s work calls for strengthened global mechanisms to safeguard freedom of information, emphasizing that unrestricted access to information is essential for democratic governance and individual political empowerment. The study also challenges international tech companies to consider the political consequences of their investments in emerging markets. When such companies collaborate with authoritarian regimes without curbing repressive measures, they inadvertently contribute to a powerful alliance that undermines democratic freedoms through subtle, transnational, and technologically complex means.

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SOURCE: University of St. Gallen

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