The Internet and Politics

Citizens, Voters and Activists

Sarah Oates, Diana Owen, Rachel K. Gibson, Rachel K Gibson

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2006
• eBook ISBN: 9781134277025
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Politics
• Index: Politics & International Relations

This volume explores the nature of the Internet's impact on civil society, addressing the following central questions:

• is the Internet qualitatively different from the more traditional forms of the media?
• has the Internet demonstrated real potential to improve civil society through a wider provision of information, an enhancement of communication between government and citizen, or via better state transparency?
• does the Internet pose a threat to the coherence of civil society as people are encouraged to abandon shared media experiences and pursue narrow interests?
• in authoritarian states, does the Internet function as a beacon for free speech or as another tool for propaganda?

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Figures
• Tables
• Contributors
• 1. The Internet, Civil Society and Democracy: A Comparative Perspective
• 2. The Internet and Youth Civic Engagement In the United States
• 3. The Minnesota E-Democracy Project: Mobilising the Mobilised?
• 4. Hunting Protestors: Mobilisation, Participation and Protest Online In the Countryside Alliance
• 5. Design Matters: The Political Efficacy of Government-Run Discussion Boards
• 6. Cybercortical Warfare: Hizbollah’s Internet Strategy
• 7. Civil Society, the Internet and Terrorism: Case Studies from Northern Ireland
• 8. Virtual Parties In a Virtual World: The Use of the Internet By Russian Political Parties
• 9. Hard to Connect: Transnational Networks, Non-Governmental Organisations and the Internet In Russia
• 10. Murder, Journalism and the Web: How the Gongadze Case Launched the Internet News Era In Ukraine
• 11. Pathologies of the Virtual Public Sphere