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The Internet: A new route to good governance

Susan Khazaeli and Daniel StockemerView all authors and affiliations

Volume 34, Issue 5

https://doi.org/10.1177/0192512113494728

Abstract
References
Biographies

Abstract

In examining the relationship between Internet use and governance across different regime types, the article emphasizes the Internet’s potential to improve governance. Through a pooled time-series analysis of more than 170 countries with annual or biannual data from 1996 to 2010, we establish that countries with higher Internet penetration rates generally enjoy better, more stable governance, regardless of regime type. Our finding has both practical and theoretical implications. More practically, our results strongly entertain the possibility that the Internet improves access to information, accommodates pluralistic sources of information, and produces platforms for political discourse. Our findings also suggest that the Internet’s concomitant facility for reporting and scrutiny in the public sphere may encourage leaders to improve transparency and accountability. More empirically, the article introduces an additional variable to the good governance function, which should be included in future analyses.

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Biographies

Susan Khazaeli is a PhD Candidate in the School of Political Studies at the University of Ottawa, Canada. She specializes in International Relations, security, and Middle East politics.

Daniel Stockemer (PhD) is an Assistant Professor in the School of Political Studies at the University of Ottawa, Canada. His research deals with election studies, social movements, democratization, and governance. He has recently published in Political Studies, European Union Politics, International Political Science Review, and Parliamentary Affairs.

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