e-democracy

Is the internet bad for democracy? How people do politics since and with the internet is the topic of discussion. Our contributors begin with this question, before casting an eye over the latest examples of internet use by governments across the globe. Finally, we'll turn to new and intriguing efforts to use the internet, locally and globally, to facilitate solutions to political problems lying beyond the nation state. Plus: The e-democracy world map.
Tuesday 5th April

Liberation technology: dreams, politics, history

Armine Ishkanian, 5 April 2011
The doctrinal commitment to new cyber and social technologies as a means of solving political problems needs to learn from the past and take a more realistic view, says Armine Ishkanian.
Tuesday 29th March

The freedom cloud

Becky Hogge, 29 March 2011
The tools that help Arab democracy protesters also extend the reach of three United States corporations. The power of Facebook, Google, and Twitter represents an appropriation of the hacker-utopian ideals of the early internet, says Becky Hogge. The challenge to those who still uphold these ideals is to recover a true freedom path.
Tuesday 6th June

The real bias in Wikipedia: a response to David Shariatmadari

Robert McHenry, 6 June 2006
Wikipedia's visionless, self-selected, value-light online encyclopedia is a deformed shadow of what the global public deserves, says former editor-in-chief of Encyclopædia Britannica, Robert McHenry.
Wednesday 24th May

The sultan and the glamour model

David Shariatmadari, 24 May 2006
"The same patterns seen in the mass media are replicating themselves on the internet." David Shariatmadari speaks to the Wikipedians countering systemic bias in the world’s biggest encyclopaedia.
Wednesday 17th May

EU data retention: access all areas

Monica Horten, 17 May 2006
A directive that challenges our fundamental right to privacy became law in the EU this month. Monica Horten charts its course through Brussels and details the concerns of its many critics
Thursday 9th February

E-government: who controls the controllers?

Giovanni Navarria, 9 February 2006
The promise of e-government is a transparent, accessible, efficient state in a new partnership with its citizens. But, asks Giovanni Navarria, could it be the model of an invisible model of political control?
Wednesday 19th October

The future of dissent: hacking Chinese censorship

Giovanni Navarria, 19 October 2005
Should we despair at the power of an authoritarian regime to censor the most democratic force of our time? Giovanni Navarria sees a ray of hope burst through the clouds hanging over Chinese netizens.
Tuesday 2nd August

Wiki-ocracy

Hossein Derakhshan, 2 August 2005
As the first international Wikimania conference is held this week in Frankfurt, pioneer Iranian blogger Hossein Derakhshan – who will blog for openDemocracy from the event – tests the “wiki’s” democratic potential in a bold new experiment.
Monday 1st August

The age of surveillance: a new 'dotcom boom'?

William Davies, 1 August 2005
Will the era of digital networks and terrorism produce the worst of both worlds: a society of mass surveillance that increases insecurity? William Davies maps a new political-technological frontier.
Monday 6th June

Identity cards: nothing to hide, nothing to fear?

Shami Chakrabarti, 6 June 2005
The British government is intent on making identity cards essential to citizens’ daily lives. Shami Chakrabarti, director of the civil-rights group Liberty, is unpersuaded by its arguments.
Tuesday 24th May

Britain's non-identity crisis

Hans Steketee, 24 May 2005
ID cards will only prove what British citizens are not. Hans Steketee asks: what kind of identity is that?
Monday 23rd May

Spam with everything in Germany's election

Alan Connor, 23 May 2005
The elections in North Rhine-Westphalia should be remembered for their far-right online politics as well as for the defeat of Germany’s ruling party, says Alan Connor.

Identity politics

Sara Forsstrom, 23 May 2005
Britain’s government plans to introduce a national identity-card system. Are fears of state intrusion on civil liberties justified? Sweden’s experience offers an answer, reports Sara Forsstrom.
Thursday 19th May

The Great Firewall of China

Becky Hogge, 19 May 2005
Google is doing business with a communist China notorious for internet censorship. Not only techno-libertarians should worry, says Becky Hogge.
Wednesday 28th July

'But, Tony Blair, I sent you an email!'

William Davies, 28 July 2004
Politics online does not itself guarantee more accountable, transparent government. But what can the internet achieve politically? William Davies asks how interactivity can be made democratic.
Sunday 13th June

What can computers do for the poor?

Maartje Op de Coul, 13 June 2004
The route from poverty to empowerment starts with the click of a mouse, says Maartje Op de Coul of Oneworld International. But can internet social projects also make markets work in their favour?
Thursday 22nd January

Censor this: Iran's web of lies

Hossein Derakhshan, 22 January 2004
Iran’s censors have a new enemy: the internet. But users of new media in the country are inventing ways to speak truth to power.
Friday 9th January

Six billion voices

Edward Cherlin, 9 January 2004
When poor people can speak, the world will change – and mobile communications technology is giving them the tools for transformation.
Friday 19th December

The internet's future in an aircraft hangar

James Cowling, 19 December 2003
The World Summit on the Information Society venue was bland, the rhetoric cloudy, the chocolates consoling – but ideas and energy flowed around the fringes.
Thursday 11th December

Communication: the missing link in sustainable development

James Goodman, 11 December 2003
The appropriate use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) could make a vast contribution to solving the problems of development and democracy. But to realise this potential, a global conversation is needed to match the global nature of economic, social and environmental challenges.
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