The Franklin L. Burdette/Pi Sigma Alpha Award is presented annually by the American Political Science Association (APSA) to honor the best paper presented at the previous year’s Annual Meeting
Citation from the Award Committee:
In “Political Action in the Dark Web,” Joyce offers a fascinating theory and test of how strong social ties in illicit online networks can exist and mobilize people into political action.
Joyce argues that members of digital groups are politically activated not just by their own prior dispositions but by social ties within their online networks. The theory is developed by bringing together insights from diverse literatures on social movements, terrorism, and social psychology which are not often in conversation with each other. Cybercriminals participate in online networks which facilitate learning and new skills, and they build trust and status within these networks by demonstrating their criminal activities. In other words, they become radicalized to gain social status. Thus, classic theories of strong social ties hold even in the unexpected context of anonymous digital networks. This has important political implications, as cybercriminals can become radical political activists using various illegal and violent means to promote their newfound causes.
The theory is tested by examining over 394,000 records of website defacements, which are combined with painstakingly reconstructed social networks of hackers. From this data, Joyce is also able to code the category of political activity, from support for or opposition to a particular policy, a country, or group of people, and whether it included violent content. In line with Joyce’s theory, the analysis finds that the prior behavior of network connections predicts the (radical) political activity of hackers. A strength of the analysis is the thoughtful attention to the issue of selection, as hackers could simply sort into online networks they align with. Leveraging the onset of the Israel-Hamas conflict, which drastically increased website defacements, Joyce is able to show that a hacker is more likely to engage for the first time as the share of their peers that have previously engaged in protest on this issue increases.
The paper is an exemplary contribution that not only answers important substantive questions, but also demonstrates how innovative forms of data collection can be used to study enduring questions about political behavior in new venues. It examines an important yet understudied question due to obvious data limitations: how individuals move from non-involvement in politics and criminal activity into radical political engagement both online and in general. At a time of increasing political volatility, the paper offers a framework for understanding how and why illicit digital communities can become sites of political activation and extremism, and what we can do about it. The project is especially impressive for its creative and rigorous use of novel digital data drawn from illicit online networks. By systematically reconstructing social ties and political activity within anonymized hacking communities, Joyce opens important new avenues for political science research on radicalization, social networks, and political behavior. We are pleased to recognize this paper as the best paper presented at the 2025 APSA Annual Meeting.
Conner Joyce is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the School of Politics, Economics and Global Affairs at IE University. His research considers the impact of digital technology on international security. He studies how technology can facilitate the emergence of security threats from non-state actors and how state actors can cooperate to mitigate these threats. Prior to joining IE University, he received his PhD in Political Science from Rice University.
APSA thanks the committee members for their service: Ana Catalano Weeks (Chair) of the University of Bath, Eric Gonzalez Juenke of Michigan State University, Dov Levin of the University of Hong Kong, and Jessica Terman of George Mason University