democracy
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Intervention
T HE DEBATE ABOUT the impact of the Internet on democracy is barely a decade old, but it has already sowed great confusion in the minds of academics and practitioners alike. It doesn’t help that both of these concepts represent complex, multilayered, and abstract ideas that do not lend themselves to easy or precise measurement. We have little choice but to reach for the best readily quantifiable proxy, which usually only obfuscates the relationship further. The Internet part of the equation is relatively easy to grasp; the rate of Internet diffusion has been one reliable indicator. Other tangible proxies--the number of Internet or mobile phone users per capita or more complex indicators like the density of a national blogosphere--are also quite straightforward, if not conclusive.
The Internet: A Room of Our Own? - Dissent Magazine
Human rights as idolatry – Chris Blattman
We need to stop thinking about human rights as trumps and begin thinking of them as a language that creates the basis for deliberation. I’ve been reading Michael Ignatieff’s 2001 lectures, Human Rights As Politics and Idolatry . Ignatieff is a true human rights pragmatist. To him, rights are neither inviolable nor intrinsic. Inviolability is impossible, since rights so often contradict even themselves. Intrinsic?
Blog: TED and Reddit interview Evgeny Morozov
Today, Internet scientist Evgeny Morozov answers questions from the latest Reddit -powered, TED community-driven interview. Enjoy! rras asks: Do I see any novel and telling reactions and counter-reactions from individuals or groups in response to governments’ manipulation efforts? Digital activism is only possible because creative and tech-savvy activists are usually one step ahead of authorities. Part of my thesis has been that authorities are getting more and more sophisticated, which makes the lives of digital activists much more difficult (and much less secure).Editor's note: Steven Cook's Newsweek International article inspired heated debate in the Middle East expert community. Read the discussion and Cook's response here .
Foreign Policy: Don't Give up on Egypt
Most days, the scene around Democracy Monument, a set of giant statues in the center of the old part of Bangkok, seems almost like a carnival. Pushcart vendors hawk everything from dried squid to ripe mangoes, and backpackers haggle with tuk-tuk drivers for a ride in their tiny, three-wheeled taxis. But over the past year, as public anger over the alleged corruption of a series of Thai governments has reached a crescendo, a different, angrier sort of crowd has been gathering there. Last fall, tens of thousands of Bangkokians dressed in the yellow symbolizing Thailand's monarchy descended to call for Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's resignation and for a transformation of the country's electoral system.
Foreign Policy: The Bourgeois Revolution
The old rulers of the Soviet Union were terrified of facing contested elections. Those of us who studied political systems presumed they must be right: Elections would empower citizens against the arrogance of government. And with the fall of the Iron Curtain, elections indeed swept the world. Yet democracy doesn't seem to have delivered on its promise. Surprisingly often, the same old rulers are still there, ruling in much the same old way.