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About Siva Vaidhyanathan

Siva Vaidhyanathan is a cultural historian and media scholar. In addition to his openDemocracy column, his work has been published in American Scholar, The Chronicle of Higher Education and other prestigious journals.

Articles by Siva Vaidhyanathan

Sunday 12th June

Creative Commons: Making copyright work for democracy

Siva Vaidhyanathan, 12 June 2005

Since its inception openDemocracy has set the standard for accessible and informed deliberation of globally important issues. Now it is truly both open and democratic. Siva Vaidhyanathan welcomes openDemocracy to the Creative Commons.

From 13 June 2005 openDemocracy will be publishing the majority of its articles under Creative Commons licences. It's part of our contribution to global democracy. The rest is up to you. Click here to read more.

Thursday 30th December

Heartbreak Hotel

Siva Vaidhyanathan, 30 December 2004

The eleventh and last of his “Remote Control” columns finds Siva Vaidhyanathan contrite over the American election result, and worried about the frightened and angry country it reflects.

Monday 25th October

Bring democracy back to America

Siva Vaidhyanathan, 25 October 2004

The United States experienced real democracy only from 1965-2000, from the civil rights era to the post-Florida judicial coup, says Siva Vaidhyanathan. Whatever the result on 2 November, American citizens need to seize the responsibility of remaking it.

Monday 4th October

What happens when we vote?

Siva Vaidhyanathan, 4 October 2004

The impact of new technologies makes a fair voting, recording and counting system even more essential to a healthy democratic process. Recent international experience, says Siva Vaidhyanathan, highlights four guiding principles that should be followed: trust, accountability, openness, and universality. How does the United States measure up?

Monday 30th August

We are all anarchists now

Siva Vaidhyanathan, 30 August 2004

The “anarchist activists” protesting the Republican party convention in New York are not the dangerous radicals of news media and mayoral imagination. Real anarchists are just like folks – and their quiet influence is spreading through the culture.

Wednesday 11th August

Panic and perspective

Siva Vaidhyanathan, 11 August 2004

Civil libertarians in the United States are fuming at the FBI arrest of Steven Kurtz, a biotech artist and professor in New York, on charges of terrorism. The security state run amok? No, says Siva Vaidhyanathan: rather, the incident tells a deeper story about the cost of the Bush administration’s dismal record on national security.

Wednesday 7th July

The sport of politics

Siva Vaidhyanathan, 7 July 2004

Between basketball and soccer, New York and Amsterdam, America and Europe, the drumbeat of sporting allegiance sends Siva Vaidhyanathan a political message.

Wednesday 9th June

Reagan: his character and his consequences

Siva Vaidhyanathan, 9 June 2004

Ronald Reagan’s mythic celebration of America is echoed in the official tributes and memorials that accompany him to the grave. Siva Vaidhyanathan acknowledges a genius of evasion whose disastrous social impact carried a saving grace that his Bushite successor lacks.

Wednesday 12th May

Our last great hope

Siva Vaidhyanathan, 12 May 2004

In Guantanamo Bay, the United States is cynically employing the brutal extra-judicial practices of its long-time foe Fidel Castro. In Iraq, US soldiers have been torturing prisoners in Saddam’s chambers. Siva Vaidhyanathan is worried. Can America be forgetting itself?

Wednesday 21st April

Texas: Part 2 - Remembering the Alamo

Siva Vaidhyanathan, 21 April 2004

The myths and legends of Texas are a far cry from the reality. As Disney releases its new blockbuster “The Alamo”, Siva Vaidhyanathan sits in a café a mile away from the Texan shrine and ponders the meaning of freedom.

Tuesday 13th April

Texas: Part 1

Siva Vaidhyanathan, 13 April 2004

Want to understand George Bush’s America? You could do worse than visit Texas. Siva Vaidhyanathan returns to his old hunting ground.

Tuesday 2nd March

Responsibility is no fun

Siva Vaidhyanathan, 2 March 2004

America has a remote control relationship with the world. From virtual war to TV news, its citizens take a passive role in world affairs. As the power and influence of the United States spreads across the globe, who is responsible for its impact?

Thursday 5th February

'This machine kills fascists'

Siva Vaidhyanathan, 5 February 2004

How committed are we to free speech? In the first of his new monthly columns on life in America, Siva Vaidhyanathan, passionate champion of liberty, abandons the cause when faced with airport security, his wife and the ghost of Woody Guthrie.

Wednesday 15th October

Part 5: Networks of power and freedom

Siva Vaidhyanathan, 15 October 2003

Part 5 of The new information ecosystem: networks of power and freedom

Wednesday 27th August

Part 4: The nation-state vs. networks

Siva Vaidhyanathan, 27 August 2003

Part 4 of The new information ecosystem: the nation-state vs. networks

Tuesday 29th July

The global conversation: info-anarchy, dissent, and human rights

Siva Vaidhyanathan, 29 July 2003

The core issues raised by p2p are those of ideology and potential, not technology. They imply a defence of universal rights that seeks the end of all architectures of control.

Wednesday 23rd July