Political Action in the Dark Web: Political Mobilization and Radicalization in Illicit Digital Networks

What explains political mobilization and radicalization within illicit digital networks? Activist organizations have emerged from cybercriminal networks, including subversive groups that intervene in international affairs and espouse radical political ideas. To explain this phenomenon, I argue that hacking networks can become politically activated through individual interaction within the context of networks. I develop a theory of political mobilization in illicit digital networks, which explains how strong ties can form in the context of online and anonymized settings. To test this argument, I build a novel dataset of website defacements conducted by hacking groups. I construct this dataset by scraping over 394,000 self-reported defacements. Using these data, I show how political ideas and activities diffuse through hackers’ social networks. This research contributes to our understanding of how political activity emerges from online networks, showing that illicit digital activity can foster political mobilization and radicalization.