POLIS 7103 - Cyber-politics: Politics and the Internet Revolution

The course examines how the digital age has transformed politics around the world. Information and communication technologies have deeply changed both the private and public spheres, the internet has radically changed the way people communicate with each other and interact with the state and private corporations. It has reshaped our economies, and created new opportunities for political engagement and organization. Citizens use the internet to organise protests and boycotts, but the internet is also a space where individuals may become radicalised. It provides a democratised platform for the production and consumption of information, but also lends itself to the proliferation of “fake news”, echo chambers and hate speech. Governments attempt to enact laws that control, censor, or monitor online interactions. But private corporations are similarly interested to control and utilize the internet to gather data on current and future consumers, and to exploit commercial opportunities. Similar opportunities are also sought by criminal actors, who seek to use the internet to pursue criminal, aggressive and terrorist activities. How, then, ought the internet be governed? Who should have authority to control internet access and content? In this course, we will explore this complex web of relations, dangers and opportunities by tackling questions such as: should the internet be censored, and by whom? Should hate speech be prohibited? Who should control access to the internet? should Facebook be nationalised? What is the value of privacy? What impact is the internet, and particularly social media, having on the human experience? What is cybersecurity and how do we achieve it? Does internet communication favour populist and authoritarian leaders? how do these issues relate to one another and to conceptions of network neutrality more generally?