The Impact of Domestic Surveillance on Political Imprisonment: Evidence from the German Democratic Republic

How does domestic surveillance affect the frequency of political imprisonments in autocratic states? In contrast to conventional wisdom, I argue that reduces power-maximizing autocracies. Surveillance decreases uncertainty about correct targets repression, allowing for more selective detentions and shifts silent instruments repression. To investigate these claims, draw on a unique county-level dataset imprisonment German Democratic Republic between 1984 1988. proxy number monitored individuals with newly collected data operations. use ordinary least squares (OLS) regression, random effects, instrumental variable models impact imprisonment. find higher shares spies per individual were associated reduction Further, increasing levels spy infiltration linked systematic shift