Chapter 1 Outline

Chapter 1 – Introduction

• Why Internet Politics?
  • Because “the Internet is now more heavily politicized than at any time in its short history, and this trend is only likely to intensify.”
  • Wide range of actors – political actors, states, economic actors, and internet-based subcultures
  • Importance of political issues involving the Internet itself
    • Regulation of the Internet and Intellectual Property
    • Digital Divide
    • Online terrorist networks
  • The internet modifies existing institutions
  • The internet creates new institutions and is an institution
• What is the Internet? Two Preliminary Answers
  • Technical Answer
    • “Network of networks” linked together and communicating using standards and protocols.
  • Comparative Answer
    • “Many-to-many” and “many-to-one” form of communication
  • Possible platform for “convergence” where all previous forms of media are combined
  • Empowers the marginalized
  • Notoriously difficult medium to regulate (China as an exception)
• The Size and Scope of the Internet
  • Difficult to gather reliable, standardized data.
  • Nevertheless, there is an undeniable and explosive trend in the growth of internet users and hosts
  • China not as “world wide web” but as “China wide web” – see Economist article