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Open Networks, Closed Regimes

Posted by michael on from the technology-is-a-force-amplifier-for-good-or-ill dept.

kris writes "First Monday has an interesting article on Open Networks, Closed Regimes: The Impact of the Internet on Authoritarian Rule, presenting evidence that The Internet may not be automatic downfall of authoritan regimes as anecdotes commonly suggest. In their words: The authors trace Internet use in eight authoritarian and semi-authoritarian countries: China, Cuba, Singapore, Vietnam, Burma, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. They discover that authoritarian governments, far from fearing the information age, have chosen to direct Internet development in ways that bolster the state. At the same time, many regimes are struggling to cope with the potent challenges posed by new technologies. The authors encourage policy makers in the U.S. and other industrialized democracies to promote specific Internet-based initiatives that foster political liberalization, rather than perpetuating the myth of the Internet as an unstoppable "virus of freedom.""

2 of 161 comments (clear)

  1. And of course, there's Palladium... by jejones · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...the ultimate mechanism to bolster repressive regimes, soon to appear at a store near you.

  2. Post predictions! by Guppy06 · · Score: 4, Funny
    • 40% will say "They forgot the US"
    • 20% will chide us for forcing US values on them
    • 20% will say "Keep government out of the internet!"
    • 10% will mention the Great Firewall of China ("Not really the whole internet!")
    • 5% will mention FreeNet, etc.
    • 4% will blame it all on Microsoft's TCP/IP stack in IE.
    • 1% will be inane post predictions