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Technology and collective action: the effect of cell phone coverage on political violence in Africa
[journal article]
Abstract
The spread of cell phone technology across Africa has transforming effects on the economic and political sphere of the continent. In this paper, we investigate the impact of cell phone technology on violent collective action. We contend that the availability of cell phones as a communication technol... view more
The spread of cell phone technology across Africa has transforming effects on the economic and political sphere of the continent. In this paper, we investigate the impact of cell phone technology on violent collective action. We contend that the availability of cell phones as a communication technology allows political groups to overcome collective action problems more easily and improve in-group cooperation, and coordination. Utilizing novel, spatially disaggregated data on cell phone coverage and the location of organized violent events in Africa, we are able to show that the availability of cell phone coverage significantly and substantially increases the probability of violent conflict. Our findings hold across numerous different model specifications and robustness checks, including cross-sectional models, instrumental variable techniques, and panel data methods... view less
Keywords
Africa; telecommunication; new technology; communication medium; cell phone; utilization; impact; conflict; network; collective behavior; political movement; protest; political violence; political participation
Classification
Technology Assessment
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
Peace and Conflict Research, International Conflicts, Security Policy
Document language
English
Publication Year
2013
Page/Pages
p. 207-224
Journal
American Political Science Review, 107 (2013) 2
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055413000075
ISSN
1537-5943
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed
Licence
Deposit Licence - No Redistribution, No Modifications
With the permission of the rights owner, this publication is under open access due to a (DFG-/German Research Foundation-funded) national or Alliance license.