Description
This paper investigates how Chinese business elites shape internet governance in African autocracies through transnational corporate networks. Existing research highlights China’s infrastructure investments, yet we know far less about the elite actors who diffuse digital control practices abroad. Building on international political economy scholarship, we argue that Chinese corporate elites, embedded in global board networks, serve as key conduits of digital authoritarianism. We theorize that influence operates through relational power rooted in interlocking board positions, shared career trajectories, and institutional affiliations. Using original matched datasets from TOSCO and BoardEx, we map indirect ties between 59 African internet service providers (ISPs) and Chinese corporate elites. We find particularly dense elite linkages among firms participating in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), suggesting BRI-linked networks as a central mechanism of transnational influence. To evaluate political consequences, we employ a difference-in-differences design using V-Dem data. We hypothesize that ISPs embedded in Chinese elite networks are significantly more likely to adopt repressive digital practices, such as censorship, surveillance, and internet shutdowns, in alignment with incumbent regimes. Our study spotlights the role of transnational business elites in constructing digital authoritarian infrastructures and advancing China’s global information power, offering new insights into authoritarian diffusion and global internet control.
