Networks of Networks: Changing Patterns in Country Bandwidth and Centrality in Global Information Infrastructure, 2002-2010

Abstract

The global distribution of information infrastructure has evolved significantly in the last decade. At a structural level, one of the most notable changes is in the way in which countries—as nodes in digital networks—link to each other. It may be analytically or epistemologically difficult to make clear causal claims between the evolution of information infrastructure and political outcomes. It may be more reasonable to argue that communications infrastructure and political processes evolve together, and in this study we attempt to measure key structural changes in bandwidth and the centrality of digital nodes, with an emphasis on Middle East and North Africa. Using a combination of bandwidth metrics and centrality indicators, we demonstrate how the information infrastructure of the Middle East and North Africa evolved between 2002 and 2010, in particular, and several countries in the Middle East rose to prominence as good nodes mediating strong intra-regional networks.