Replication Data for: Exporting the Tools of Dictatorship: The Politics of China's Technology Transfers

The Chinese government is revolutionizing digital surveillance at home and exporting these technologies abroad. Do these technology transfers help recipient governments expand digital surveillance, impose internet shutdowns, filter the internet, and target repression for online content? We focus on Huawei, the world's largest telecommunications provider, which is partly state-owned and increasingly regarded as an instrument of its foreign policy. Using a global sample and an identification strategy based on generalized synthetic controls, we show that the effect of Huawei transfers depends on preexisting political institutions in recipient countries. In the world's autocracies, Huawei technology facilitates digital repression. We find no effect in the world’s democracies, which are more likely to have laws that regulate digital privacy, institutions that punish government violations, and vibrant civil societies that step in when institutions come under strain. Most broadly, this article advances a large literature about the geopolitical implications of China's rise.中国政府正在国内推进数字监控领域的革命性变革，并将相关技术对外输出。此类技术转让是否会助力受援国政府扩大数字监控、实施网络关停、开展网络过滤，并针对网络内容实施镇压行动？我们聚焦于全球最大电信运营商华为（Huawei）——该企业部分由国有资本控股，且日益被视为中国外交政策的工具。基于全球样本与广义合成控制法（generalized synthetic controls）的识别策略，我们的研究表明，华为技术转让的效果取决于受援国既有的政治制度。在全球威权国家中，华为技术会助长数字镇压；而在民主国家中则未发现此类效果——这类国家更有可能出台规制数字隐私的法律、拥有惩处政府违规行为的制度，以及当制度面临压力时能够介入的活跃公民社会。从更宏观的层面而言，本文为探讨中国崛起地缘政治影响的大量相关学术研究贡献了新的进展。

搜集汇总

背景与挑战

背景概述

该数据集提供了关于中国技术转让政治的研究复制数据，聚焦华为公司技术输出对全球数字监控和网络压制的影响。研究发现，在专制国家中，华为技术促进了数字压制，而在民主国家中则无显著效果。数据集包含代码、数据和文本文件，支持社会科学领域的国际关系研究。