I thought this Hacker News comment on an article about Europe needing digital sovereignty was insightful.

"One theory about developing countries was that if oil is found, it's naturally easier for a dictator to control, since it's a concentrated source of revenue. Just a small amount of mercenaries is enough. So there will be a series of dictators.

If there's no concentrated source of revenue, the people need to be involved and thus a more democratic path is likely.

With the internet and software, especially with platforms, you see this concentration of power effect. That then easily leads to certain kind of power dynamics. Ie just as a hypothetical example, if there's only a few closed conversation platforms, government can control them relatively easily."