Civic Disobedience: Does Internet Use Stimulate Political Unrest in East Asia?

ABSTRACT: There is a debate in the extant literature concerning whether the Internet stimulates political participation. We examine both whether Internet use encourages traditional participation, such as campaign- and election-centered acts, and nontraditional participation, including protest/resistance-centered acts in the East Asian context. In doing so, we are also able to explore the Asian Values hypothesis, which purports that East Asians have a cultural predisposition toward civic obedience. We theorize that because of the increased probability of being exposed to a dissident flow of information, more frequent use of the Internet leads to the development of negative attitudes about government and results in less obedience, and more nontraditional participation. Conversely, we suggest that Internet use should be negatively associated with traditional participation because dissidents are likely to see it as futile. The results confirm these expectations, suggesting the Asian Values hypothesis is not robust.