Politics of Internet: Governance, Policy-making and Democracy

Abstract

This course provides students with an introduction to some of the most salient issues surrounding the relationship between the Internet and Politics. It is structured around two broad questions. Firstly, how has politics affected the evolution of the internet both in the past and in the present? And secondly, how does the internet affect traditional forms of political activity and mobilisation?

Objective

The course is open to students from a variety of backgrounds and does not presuppose any particular technical knowledge. However, it will draw heavily on the discipline of political science in order to understand the interactions between distinct political actors as they attempt to address the dilemmas generated by the internet's spectacular proliferation. To this end the course's intellectual focus will be on the mobilisation of a series of political actors in a number of domains related to 1) the governance of the internet's technological architecture; 2) the internet's impact on a number of regulatory and policy domains and 3) the use of the internet as a potential tool for enhancing democracy.

Content

PART I: THEORIES AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMES Week 1 – 25 October 2006 Introduction Week 2 – 3 November 2006 Theorizing Institutional Change and the Information Society PART II: GOVERNANCE OF THE INTERNET Week 3 – 10 November 2006 The Evolution and Politicization of the Internet Week 4 – 17 November 2006 Governance Dilemmas: The International Politics of the Internet PART III: INTERNET AND POLICY-MAKING Week 5 – 24 November 2006 Internet Access and Digital Divide Week 6 – 1 December 2006 Data Privacy and Government Surveillance of Cyberspace: The Politics of Protecting Personal Data Week 7 – 8 December 2006 The Copyright Challenge Week 8 – 15 December 2006 Internet Criminality: Illegal Content, Hackers, and Cyber Warfare PART IV: INTERNET AND DEMOCRACY Week 9 – 22 December 2006 Theoretical Approaches to e-Democracy: Models of e-Democracy Week 10 – 12 January 2007 New Social Movements and the Internet Week 11 – 19 January 2006 Political Parties and the Internet Week 12 – 26 January 2006 The Internet and New Modes of Political Participation Week 13– 2 February 2006 Applied Research/Case Studies Week 14– 9 February 2006 Final Grades

Resources