The Internet and Global Politics

The internet was a promising technological advancement designed to make the world’s information more accessible and the public’s participation in government more feasible. However, according to John Dvorak in his column titled “The False Promises of the Internet,” the stability and freedom of the internet is on a downward trend. He conveys this idea with the use of his negative connotation and his appeal to ethos.

Propaganda is just as reverent today as it was during the 1930’s, persuasive techniques are regularly applied by politicians, journalists, advertisers, radio hosts, and others who are interested in persuading people to their side of the room. Propagandistic statements are used to achieve constructive societal advancements such as campaigning to reduce drunk driving, or used to succeed in political elections. Along with the advancement of the Internet, the outpouring of persuasive information has been greatly increased (Delwiche). For the first time in history the public can participate in uncensored discussions with their neighbors from around the world. The Internet phenomenon has two-part consequence attached. The development of fast and wide range information is an excellent advancement, but has driven society into network overload.

The internet is a powerful tool for activists, but can also be utilized by the other side by promoting propaganda and mobilizing their own supporters. Networking sites have revolutionized the way people activists approach revolutions. Moreover, the internet has connected people from across the world and has caused people in the states (like myself) to become invested in a civil war occurring in a part of the world I never knew existed. The internet has empowered and enabled people by connecting like-minded people, providing access to information, broadcasting events, and creating real connections between people. Alone, the internet is not enough to bring down an oppressive, authoritarian state; but when coupled with the power and will of the people, it can create real

Internet is a double-edged sword. On one side that candidate is able to increase the chance to get more votes, on the other hand the risks have to be taken by

The Georgia Institute of Technology is a one of the top public research universities in the world. The technology and society program is one of the top-rated programs at Georgia Tech. The program aims to lead in the research and breakthroughs that drive social and scientific progress. This paper investigated and discussed the effect of the Internet on democracy over the world in the period of 1992 to 2002 by using several methods including survey, research and discovering the relationships between the Internet and policies. Numerous previous reports and tests were cited in the paragraph as well as charts. Although the data were gathered only for the period of 1992 to 2002 which means the findings may be outdated, the writers’ predictions in

Social media is crucial when it comes to communication in comparison to the more common traditional media Iran has during this election for those who oppose Ahmadinejad. Many traditional media such as television and newspaper are state-run by an “appointed member that is selected by the supreme leader” (Fathi par 17). This happens to be Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who favors current President Ahmadinejad. However, since the use of the internet along with wireless technology, it has become much more widespread among young and affluent Iranians, who happen to be the bulk of the candidates’ supporters against Ahmadinejad. Christopher Waddell, associate director of the school of journalism and communications

INTRO The Darkening Web: The War for Cyberspace by Alexander Klimburg is a novel that is written around the importance as well as the relevance of the internet in today’s society regarding state safety. The claim Klimburg makes throughout the novel is that no invention at all has changed the way we live, as much as it has been changed by the creation of the Internet. Many would consider the Internet to be the greatest invention to happen to mankind, considering how easily accessible it is and how much information it holds. However, Klimburg’s novel explores the idea of cyberspace in regard to politics.

The use of social media sites remain as atop down information feed rather than interacting active input as issues can become polarising resulting in conflict leading to bad publicity to elected officials (Fredricks & Foth 2012, p 246). Those that already have an interest in a local issue will seek out other mechanisms of public participation (Fredricks & Foth 2012, p 248). The use of the internet in public participation requires a technical knowledge that may involve training in some areas (Seltzer & Mahoundi 2013 p. 11). Additionally utilising telecommunications requires a decent network (Leighninger 2012 p. 4).

Theorists contend that representative government is headed for direct democracy by way of the Internet. Essentially what will happen is that representatives will no longer be needed because citizens will be able to use the Internet to make decisions. Grossman contends that “the more power [citizens] have to control their government and to involve themselves in making its decisions, the better” (41). Over the years citizens have been obtaining information through the media, newspapers, and other forms of mass media. The issues that arise with obtaining information through these sources are that the government can easily censor them. With the Internet comes “vastly expanded capacities for data collection, for computation, and for automation” (Kamark & Nye 22).

Cyberpolitics the act of legislative using the internet to connect with their constituents. They might use surveys, electronic town meetings, send email containing info about their campaign. This type of politics is geared more towards the younger generation. (Hamilton, L. (2004).

The freedom of speech that was possible on the Internet could now be subjected to governmental approvals. For example, China is attempting to restrict political expression, in the name of security and social stability. It requires users of the Internet and electronic mail (e-mail) to register, so that it may monitor their activities. In the United Kingdom, state secrets and personal attacks are off limits on the Internet. Laws are strict and the government is extremely interested in regulating the Intern et with respect to these issues.10 Laws intended for other types of communication will not necessarily apply in this medium.

Communication has greatly improved in the recent past with the use of the internet and mobile communication devices such as mobile phones. In the political arena, communication is an important aspect and the more the communication channels, the better. The internet has boosted communication a lot and has made it easier and cheaper. For example, politicians today can communicate to their followers or to others through the social media through facebook, Twitter and such. This helps them to be able to reach people in distant places; worldwide and also to communicate important information to a wide audience and in a fast manner. Mobile devices including mobile phones, tablets and ipads have also facilitated faster and more effective communication for politicians. Political communication is quite crucial and requires a fast and effective way of communicating which today, has been facilitated through the internet technologies and mobile devices (In Giasson, et al., 2014).

The Internet has revolutionized a wide range of institutional processes, communications functions, and social norms. The process of information dissemination and retrieval has changed dramatically because of the way the Internet is structured. Commerce, even outside the realm of technology, has also changed because of the Internet. The Internet has had more direct effects on the economy, too, by creating whole new sectors of business from Google to Facebook. However, the Internet also stimulates spending in a large number of sectors via e-commerce. Globalization has been facilitated by the Internet, in part because the Internet enables human population and labor migrations on an epic scale. The Internet also facilitates globalization by enabling the permitting instantaneous sharing of everything from memes to goods and services. Furthermore, the Internet permits distance education that allows the transfer of labor across different geographic zones. The Internet is implicated in political process transformations, too, possibly responsible for catalyzing mass protest movements around the world. There are no aspects of human economic, political, and social life that are now independent of Internet influence.

The dissertation topic I had for my MSc study at LSE was to join the academic debate of “wether the Internet could be considered as a public sphere” by comparing the discourses produced by citizens, advocacy groups, media, and the government regarding the demonstration to the Cross-Strait Fair Trade Agreement in Taiwan 2014. Inspired by Professor Nick Couldry’s argument that the potential of new technologies leading to effective democracy could only be when people’s voices were recognised by official institutions, the research tried to find out whether citizens’ online deliberations could have impacts on political decisions.

The most fundamental method of human expression is communication through both verbal and non-verbal means. As technology, has rapidly developed over the past two decades, and continues to evolve at a staggering pace leading into the future, people have taken to the World Wide Web (WWW) as an extension of basic communication capability. WWW communication allows people to quickly reach out to one another throughout the course of a busy day. As a result of enhanced communication capability, and a surge in use of communication over the WWW, areas of private professional and public political life have seen substantial change in recent years.