Research Portfolio Post #7: Qualitative Data Sources
For my small-N research proposal, I plan to analyze states that have free or constrained internet governance models. I plan to term my dichotomous dependent variable as states that have a “network authoritarianism” model or a “collateral freedom” model. States that have models of network authoritarianism employ internet governance models such as, “[t]he model of national governments and law which is based on the idea that as the Internet grows in importance, fundamental regulatory decisions will be made by national governments through legal regulation.”[1] The “collateral freedom” model is a system in which states employ relatively unconstrained government regulation over the internet to allow for economically and socially free practices that morph internet practices.
In order to study this dependent variable, I will need to gather data on the impact of government regulations on the expansion of the internet. Firstly, I will gather data on how my selected countries have worded their cyber strategies. The Global Cyber Strategies Index has compiled all the regulatory documents that each country has enacted regarding cyber practices.[2] This is an extremely useful resource for finding government regulations. For example, the index links documents for Iran and Israel, two nations that are often cited in the scholarly articles as having strong cyber capabilities and differing approaches to governing these capabilities. Iran has passed two legislation, one pertaining to cybercrime in 2009 and another pertaining to cyber commerce in 2004. In the Computer Crimes Act of 2009, Iran delineates illegal activities and the repercussion for committing them.[3] Israel also passed a cybercrime regulatory act in 1995 which outlines how cyber criminals should be brought to justice.[4] Both include statutes that describe the situations in which non-citizens fall under their respective laws which will be a crucial part of my research focus. Should I choose Iran and Israel as case studies for my research, I would analyze the documents in depth in order to ascertain how these countries have structured their regulation of cybercrimes.
Secondly, I will analyze newspaper articles and reports (if they can be found) that pertain to how the cyber regulations are implemented on citizens and non-citizens. In order to know the extent to which a nation has a model of networked authoritarianism or collateral freedom, I also need to know the degree to which these regulations are being implemented. The degree of implementation is important for operationalizing my dependent variable because the implementation of laws indicates the strength of a regulation. For example, the US indicted five Chinese military hackers for commercial espionage.[5] In the indictment the statues that were employed are included in the report which helps to gather information on the application of regulations.
This dichotomous governance model has not yet been defined in the scholarly community and therefore presents an interesting avenue for my own research.
[1] Lee A. Bygrave and Jon Bing, Internet Governance: Infrastructure and Institutions (Oxford, UNITED KINGDOM: Oxford University Press USA – OSO, 2009), accessed October 27, 2018, pg 56. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/aul/detail.action?docID=430398.
[2] “Global Cyber Strategies Index,” Center for Strategic and International Studies, last modified 2018, accessed October 2, 2018, https://www.csis.org/programs/technology-policy-program/cybersecurity-and-governance/global-cyber-strategies-index.
[3] Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Computer Crimes Act, 2009, accessed October 28, 2018, http://cyber.police.ir/?siteid=46&pageid=632.
[4] Israeli Parliament, Israel: Computers Law, 5755-1995 (as Amended on July 17, 2012), 1995, accessed October 29, 2018, http://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/details.jsp?id=15420.
[5] “U.S. Charges Five Chinese Military Hackers for Cyber Espionage Against U.S. Corporations and a Labor Organization for Commercial Advantage,” last modified May 19, 2014, accessed September 30, 2018, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/us-charges-five-chinese-military-hackers-cyber-espionage-against-us-corporations-and-labor.
Hannah,
You seem to have a firm understanding of your dependent variable, and your definitions will help in ensuring clarity and validity. In relation to your operationalization, I wonder how you specifically plan on determining whether a country is one model or the other? Having a list of specific criteria that you are looking for when categorizing your cases will help in operationalizing your variable and allowing you to know what you are specifically looking for within your sources. For instance, in relation to how countries word their cyber strategies: are there particular words or phrases that you believe would indicate one model over the other? Additionally, I am curious as to what you already know about your dependent variable. Are there particular sources that you have already looked at from the larger databases and sources that you discussed which tell you specific information about your cases? Are there particular countries which at this point you believe are one model or the other and how do you know that? Looking at specific information such as this would allow you both to have a general idea of where your research is headed and also to test out the effectiveness of your operationalization, which can help as you move towards your research sketch to know whether or not there is an aspect of your dependent variable that is being left out. Finally, you said that the dichotomous governance model has not been defined in the scholarly community as of yet. I am curious as to what that means about the way that you are looking at your dependent variable? Is there a reason that governance hasn’t been defined dichotomously and does your definition address this reason? These are a few things that I would advise considering as you move forward with your research, but on the whole I believe that you have a well-rounded understanding of your vision for your project and I look forward to seeing where you go in the future.
Hannah — overall this seems like a fine start as you think about the operationalization of your DV and the data sources that you could use establish values for the variable in cases. You’ve received some good suggestions and questions from Katherine, so be sure to keep those in mind as you continue your research. Among other things, I’d emphasize that it would be good to clearly state the value of the DV that you have identified for the case(s) that you are considering at this stage. What specific cases are you considering and what is the value of the value of the DV in those cases?