THE INTERNET AND DISSENT IN AUTHORITARIAN STATES
James D. Fielder · 2013
This chapter argues that the Internet increases the likelihood of dissent inside authoritarian states through three factors: distance, decentralization, and interaction. In 1996, Internet access in Myanmar was available only through a single, state-run Internet service provider. Relative to other forms of broadcasting is available in the mid- to late-1990s Internet-based communications offered dissent movements far greater benefit in terms of cost, speed and ease of use. In Internet time, however, 1996 was an eternity ago. In the mid-1990s, Doug McAdam, John D. McCarthy, and Mayer N. Zald proposed a synthesis of previous theories into a model that links three broad sets of factors for analyzing a social movement&s;s repertoires of contention, or available means of protest: mobilizing structures, political opportunity structures, and collective action frames. In turn, opportunity and threat represent the environmental constraints that influence social movement development, particularly in regard to the structure of the state.