Download or read book Open Networks Closed Regimes written by Shanthi Kalathil and published by Carnegie Endowment. This book was released on 2010-11 with total page 235 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the Internet diffuses across the globe, many have come to believe that the technology poses an insurmountable threat to authoritarian rule. Grounded in the Internet's early libertarian culture and predicated on anecdotes pulled from diverse political climates, this conventional wisdom has informed the views of policymakers, business leaders, and media pundits alike. Yet few studies have sought to systematically analyze the exact ways in which Internet use may lay the basis for political change. In O pen Networks, Closed Regimes, the authors take a comprehensive look at how a broad range of societal and political actors in eight authoritarian and semi-authoritarian countries employ the Internet. Based on methodical assessment of evidence from these cases—China, Cuba, Singapore, Vietnam, Burma, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt—the study contends that the Internet is not necessarily a threat to authoritarian regimes.

Download or read book Contesting Cyberspace in China written by Rongbin Han and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2018-04-10 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Internet was supposed to be an antidote to authoritarianism. It can enable citizens to express themselves freely and organize outside state control. Yet while online activity has helped challenge authoritarian rule in some cases, other regimes have endured: no movement comparable to the Arab Spring has arisen in China. In Contesting Cyberspace in China, Rongbin Han offers a powerful counterintuitive explanation for the survival of the world’s largest authoritarian regime in the digital age. Han reveals the complex internal dynamics of online expression in China, showing how the state, service providers, and netizens negotiate the limits of discourse. He finds that state censorship has conditioned online expression, yet has failed to bring it under control. However, Han also finds that freer expression may work to the advantage of the regime because its critics are not the only ones empowered: the Internet has proved less threatening than expected due to the multiplicity of beliefs, identities, and values online. State-sponsored and spontaneous pro-government commenters have turned out to be a major presence on the Chinese internet, denigrating dissenters and barraging oppositional voices. Han explores the recruitment, training, and behavior of hired commenters, the “fifty-cent army,” as well as group identity formation among nationalistic Internet posters who see themselves as patriots defending China against online saboteurs. Drawing on a rich set of data collected through interviews, participant observation, and long-term online ethnography, as well as official reports and state directives, Contesting Cyberspace in China interrogates our assumptions about authoritarian resilience and the democratizing power of the Internet.

Download or read book Chinese Authoritarianism in the Information Age written by Suisheng Zhao and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-06-24 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines information and public opinion control by the authoritarian state in response to popular access to information and upgraded political communication channels among the citizens in contemporary China. Empowered by mass media, particularly social media and other information technology, Chinese citizen’s access to information has been expanded. Publicly focusing events and opinions have served as catalysts to shape the agenda for policy making and law making, narrow down the set of policy options, and change the pace of policy implementation. Yet, the authoritarian state remains in tight control of media, including social media, to deny the free flow of information and shape public opinion through a centralized institutional framework for propaganda and information technologies. The evolving process of media control and public opinion manipulation has constrained citizen’s political participation and strengthened Chinese authoritarianism in the information age. The chapters originally published as articles in the Journal of Contemporary China.

Download or read book Internet Control and Authoritarianism written by and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An oft-stated view held by scholars and political observers is that given the unique characteristics of the Internet, the technology offers real opportunities for democratization and political transformation, especially in societies where the basic rights of freedom of expression and the press are constricted by state control. This thesis seeks to challenge this main assumption by examining the impact of the Internet along with the politics surrounding its use in Asia, with specific attention to the cases of China, Singapore and Iran. This thesis postulates that in the cases of certain authoritarian regimes such as China and Singapore, not only has the presence and use of the Internet failed to spawn strong opposition movements, but authorities in these states have cleverly entered the domain of online expression and have utilized the technology to improve governance and control of these societies. The conditions which make it possible for certain states to suppress online activism, and which in turn contributes to the strengthening of authorial control are then clearly identified and delineated. They include, namely: a strong regulatory regime; an effective use of e-governance and the pacification of Internet entrepreneurs. Iran serves as a contrast case to China and Singapore as civil society actors in the Islamic country have demonstrated a clear interest in participating in a struggle against the state by entering and articulating their positions in the virtual space of cyber interaction. The notable absence of stated conditions in Iran, however, clearly shows that a confluence of circumstances is still necessary for regimes to more fully manipulate online spaces. It is not the intention of the thesis to project the notion that China's infamous "Firewall" is one-hundred percent full-proof or that citizens in these countries are deprived of all access to controversial news and media. The main conclusion that is drawn is that despite the government's open promotio.

Download or read book The Rise of Digital Repression written by Steven Feldstein and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Book" -- dust jacket.

Download or read book Authoritarianism Goes Global written by Larry Diamond and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2016-04-15 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With democracy in decline, authoritarian governments are staging a comeback around the world. Over the past decade, illiberal powers have become emboldened and gained influence within the global arena. Leading authoritarian countries—including China, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela—have developed new tools and strategies to contain the spread of democracy and challenge the liberal international political order. Meanwhile, the advanced democracies have retreated, failing to respond to the threat posed by the authoritarians. As undemocratic regimes become more assertive, they are working together to repress civil society while tightening their grip on cyberspace and expanding their reach in international media. These political changes have fostered the emergence of new counternorms—such as the authoritarian subversion of credible election monitoring—that threaten to further erode the global standing of liberal democracy. In Authoritarianism Goes Global, a distinguished group of contributors present fresh insights on the complicated issues surrounding the authoritarian resurgence and the implications of these systemic shifts for the international order. This collection of essays is critical for advancing our understanding of the emerging challenges to democratic development. Contributors: Anne Applebaum, Anne-Marie Brady, Alexander Cooley, Javier Corrales, Ron Deibert, Larry Diamond, Patrick Merloe, Abbas Milani, Andrew Nathan, Marc F. Plattner, Peter Pomerantsev, Douglas Rutzen, Lilia Shevtsova, Alex Vatanka, Christopher Walker, and Frederic Wehrey

Download or read book Internet Censorship and Regulation Systems in Democracies Emerging Research and Opportunities written by Koumartzis, Nikolaos and published by IGI Global. This book was released on 2020-05-08 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the internet has been regulated from its conception, many widespread beliefs regarding internet freedom are actually misconceptions. Additionally, there are already two main categories of internet regulation systems in use: the open and the silent IRSs. Unexpectedly, the former are quite popular among authoritarian regimes, while the latter are implemented mainly in Western democracies. Many IT experts and media analysts criticize Western governments’ choice to use a silent IRS, expressing their fear that this could set a dangerous precedent for the rest of the democratic countries around the world. New regulation systems must be developed and implemented that are more acceptable to the general public. Internet Censorship and Regulation Systems in Democracies: Emerging Research and Opportunities is an essential reference source that discusses the phenomenon of internet regulation in general and the use of internet regulation systems (IRSs) by authoritarian regimes and Western democracies and proposes a blueprint for the development and implementation of a fair internet regulation system (FIRS). using original research conducted in seven countries from 2008 to 2017. The book also considers the function of a fair internet regulation system in terms of maximizing its effectiveness, keeping the implementation cost low, and increasing the probability of acceptance by each country’s general public. Featuring research on topics such as governmental control, online filtering, and public opinion, this book is ideally designed for researchers, policymakers, government officials, practitioners, academicians, and students seeking coverage on modern internet censorship policies within various international democracies.

Download or read book Coding Democracy written by Maureen Webb and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2021-07-27 with total page 413 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hackers as vital disruptors, inspiring a new wave of activism in which ordinary citizens take back democracy. Hackers have a bad reputation, as shady deployers of bots and destroyers of infrastructure. In Coding Democracy, Maureen Webb offers another view. Hackers, she argues, can be vital disruptors. Hacking is becoming a practice, an ethos, and a metaphor for a new wave of activism in which ordinary citizens are inventing new forms of distributed, decentralized democracy for a digital era. Confronted with concentrations of power, mass surveillance, and authoritarianism enabled by new technology, the hacking movement is trying to "build out" democracy into cyberspace.

Download or read book Chinese Authoritarianism in the Information Age written by Suisheng Zhao and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-06-24 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines information and public opinion control by the authoritarian state in response to popular access to information and upgraded political communication channels among the citizens in contemporary China. Empowered by mass media, particularly social media and other information technology, Chinese citizen’s access to information has been expanded. Publicly focusing events and opinions have served as catalysts to shape the agenda for policy making and law making, narrow down the set of policy options, and change the pace of policy implementation. Yet, the authoritarian state remains in tight control of media, including social media, to deny the free flow of information and shape public opinion through a centralized institutional framework for propaganda and information technologies. The evolving process of media control and public opinion manipulation has constrained citizen’s political participation and strengthened Chinese authoritarianism in the information age. The chapters originally published as articles in the Journal of Contemporary China.

Download or read book Liberation Technology written by Larry Diamond and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2012-07-30 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Liberation Technology brings together cutting-edge scholarship from scholars and practitioners at the forefront of this burgeoning field of study. An introductory section defines the debate with a foundational piece on liberation technology and is then followed by essays discussing the popular dichotomy of liberation'' versus "control" with regard to the Internet and the sociopolitical dimensions of such controls. Additional chapters delve into the cases of individual countries: China, Egypt, Iran, and Tunisia.

Download or read book The Internet and State Control in Authoritarian Regimes written by Shanthi Kalathil and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is widely believed that the Internet poses an insurmountable threat to authoritarian rule. But political science scholarship has provided little support for this conventional wisdom, and a number of case studies from around the world show that authoritarian regimes are finding ways to control and counter the political impact of Internet use. While the long-term political impact of the Internet remains an open question, Kalathil and Boas argue that these strategies for control may continue to be viable in the short to medium term. Many authoritarian regimes translate a long and successful history of control over other information and communication technologies into strong control of Internet development within their borders. Potential challenges to the state may arise from Internet use in several areas: the mass public, civil society, the economy, and the international community. Authoritarian states will likely respond to these challenges with a variety of reactive measures: restricting Internet access, filtering content, monitoring on-line behavior, or even prohibiting Internet use entirely. In addition, such states seek to extend central control through proactive strategies, guiding the development of the medium to promote their own interests and priorities. Through a combination of reactive and proactive strategies, an authoritarian regime can counter the challenges posed by Internet use and even utilize the Internet to extend its reach and authority. In this paper the authors illustrate how two authoritarian regimes, China and Cuba, are maintaining control over the Internet's political impact through different combinations of reactive and proactive strategies. These cases illustrate that, contrary to assumptions, different types of authoritarian regimes may be able to control and profit from the Internet. Examining the experiences of these two countries may help to shed light on other authoritarian regimes' strategies for Internet development, as well as help to develop generalizable conclusions about the impact of the Internet on authoritarian rule.

Download or read book Repression in the Digital Age written by ANITA R. GOHDES and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2023-12-15 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Global adoption of the Internet has exploded, yet we are only beginning to understand the Internet's profound political consequences. Authoritarian states are digitally catching up with their democratic counterparts, and both are showing a growing interest in the use of cyber controls--online censorship and surveillance technologies--that allow governments to exercise control over the Internet. Under what conditions does a digitally connected society actually help states target their enemies? Why do repressive governments sometimes shut down the Internet when faced with uprisings? And how have cyber controls become a dependable tool in the weapons arsenal that states use in civil conflict? In Repression in the Digital Age, Anita R. Gohdes addresses these questions, providing an original and in-depth look into the relationship between digital technologies and state violence. Drawing on large-scale analyses of fine-grained data on the Syrian conflict, qualitative case evidence from Iran, and the first global comparative analysis on Internet outages, Gohdes makes the case that digital infrastructure supports security forces in their use of violent state repression. More specifically, she argues that mass access to the Internet presents governments who fear for their political survival with a set of response options. When faced with a political threat, they can either temporarily restrict or block online public access or they can expand mass access to online information and monitor it to their own advantage. Surveillance allows security forces to target opponents of the state more selectively, while extreme forms of censorship or shutdowns of the Internet occur in conjunction with larger and more indiscriminate repression. As digital communication has become a bedrock of modern opposition and protest movements, Repression in the Digital Age breaks new ground in examining state repression in the information age.

Download or read book Liberation Technology written by Larry Diamond and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2012-07-30 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The revolutions sweeping the Middle East provide dramatic evidence of the role that technology plays in mobilizing citizen protest and upending seemingly invulnerable authoritarian regimes. A grainy cell phone video of a Tunisian street vendor’s self-immolation helped spark the massive protests that toppled longtime ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, and Egypt’s “Facebook revolution” forced the ruling regime out of power and into exile. While such “liberation technology” has been instrumental in freeing Egypt and Tunisia, other cases—such as China and Iran—demonstrate that it can be deployed just as effectively by authoritarian regimes seeking to control the Internet, stifle protest, and target dissenters. This two-sided dynamic has set off an intense technological race between “netizens” demanding freedom and authoritarians determined to retain their grip on power. Liberation Technology brings together cutting-edge scholarship from scholars and practitioners at the forefront of this burgeoning field of study. An introductory section defines the debate with a foundational piece on liberation technology and is then followed by essays discussing the popular dichotomy of “liberation” versus “control” with regard to the Internet and the sociopolitical dimensions of such controls. Additional chapters delve into the cases of individual countries: China, Egypt, Iran, and Tunisia. This book also includes in-depth analysis of specific technologies such as Ushahidi—a platform developed to document human-rights abuses in the wake of Kenya’s 2007 elections—and alkasir—a tool that has been used widely throughout the Middle East to circumvent cyber-censorship. Liberation Technology will prove an essential resource for all students seeking to understand the intersection of information and communications technology and the global struggle for democracy. Contributors: Walid Al-Saqaf, Daniel Calingaert, Ronald Deibert, Larry Diamond, Elham Gheytanchi, Philip N. Howard, Muzammil M. Hussain, Rebecca MacKinnon, Patrick Meier, Evgeny Morozov, Xiao Qiang, Rafal Rohozinski, Mehdi Yahyanejad

Download or read book Competitive Political Regime and Internet Control written by Liu Yangyue and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2014-06-02 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why are policies of internet control adopted in a democratic state, while internet freedom is guaranteed in a more authoritarian context? In this work on the comparative politics of internet control, it is argued that regime type per se is not the direct determinant of the internet control outcome. Instead, the book proposes an alternative model that addresses the intensity of online transgressiveness and the capacity of online civil society. While online transgressiveness propels governments to seek internet control strategies, online civil society represents an inhibiting force, the cohesiveness of which determines the extent to which societal resistance against internet censorship might succeed. Through detailed studies of Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, Competitive Political Regime and Internet Control shows that online transgressiveness and civil society capacity collectively shape the outcomes of internet control. In this way, the book provides a new framework for understanding the practice of internet control, which has become a hot topic in the study of internet politics and regime types more generally. It also speaks to the broad literature on Southeast Asian politics, as well as that on democratization.

Download or read book Digital Authoritarianism in the Middle East written by Marc Owen Jones and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2022-07-15 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: You are being lied to by people who don't even exist. Digital deception is the new face of information warfare. Social media has been weaponised by states and commercial entities alike, as bots and trolls proliferate and users are left to navigate an infodemic of fake news and disinformation. In the Persian Gulf and the wider Middle East, where authoritarian regimes continue to innovate and adapt in the face of changing technology, online deception has reached new levels of audacity. From pro-Saudi entities that manipulate the tweets of the US president, to the activities of fake journalists and Western PR companies that whitewash human rights abuses, Marc Owen Jones' meticulous investigative research uncovers the full gamut of tactics used by Gulf regimes and their allies to deceive domestic and international audiences. In an age of global deception, this book charts the lengths bad actors will go to when seeking to impose their ideology and views on citizens around the world.

Download or read book Access Controlled written by Ronald Deibert and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2010-04-02 with total page 635 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reports on a new generation of Internet controls that establish a new normative terrain in which surveillance and censorship are routine. Internet filtering, censorship of Web content, and online surveillance are increasing in scale, scope, and sophistication around the world, in democratic countries as well as in authoritarian states. The first generation of Internet controls consisted largely of building firewalls at key Internet gateways; China's famous “Great Firewall of China” is one of the first national Internet filtering systems. Today the new tools for Internet controls that are emerging go beyond mere denial of information. These new techniques, which aim to normalize (or even legalize) Internet control, include targeted viruses and the strategically timed deployment of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, surveillance at key points of the Internet's infrastructure, take-down notices, stringent terms of usage policies, and national information shaping strategies. Access Controlled reports on this new normative terrain. The book, a project from the OpenNet Initiative (ONI), a collaboration of the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto's Munk Centre for International Studies, Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet and Society, and the SecDev Group, offers six substantial chapters that analyze Internet control in both Western and Eastern Europe and a section of shorter regional reports and country profiles drawn from material gathered by the ONI around the world through a combination of technical interrogation and field research methods.

Download or read book The Internet and Political Protest in Autocracies written by Nils B. Weidmann and published by Oxford Studies in Digital Poli. This book was released on 2019 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: " Eight years after the Arab Spring there is still much debate over the link between Internet technology and protest against authoritarian regimes. While the debate has advanced beyond the simple question of whether the Internet is a tool of liberation or one of surveillance and propaganda, theory and empirical data attesting to the circumstances under which technology benefits autocratic governments versus opposition activists is scarce. In this book, Nils B. Weidmann and Espen Geelmuyden R2d offer a broad theory about why and when digital technology is used for one end or another, drawing on detailed empirical analyses of the relationship between the use of Internet technology and protest in autocracies. By leveraging new sub-national data on political protest and Internet penetration, they present analyses at the level of cities in more than 60 autocratic countries. The book also introduces a new methodology for estimating Internet use, developed in collaboration with computer scientists and drawing on large-scale observations of Internet traffic at the local level. Through this data, the authors analyze political protest as a process that unfolds over time and space, where the effect of Internet technology varies at different stages of protest. They show that violent repression and government institutions affect whether Internet technology empowers autocrats or activists, and that the effect of Internet technology on protest varies across different national environments. "--