Description
The book discusses the various issues surrounding the governance of cyberspace, including surveillance, control, rights, and privacy. It argues that the concept of governance is not limited to imposed regulation, but can arise naturally from long-term interactions among groups and individuals.
Issues of surveillance, control and privacy in relation to the internet are coming to the fore as a result of state concern with security, crime and economic advantage. Through an exploration of emerging debates regarding the possible desirability, form and agencies responsible for the regulation of the internet and an analysis of issues of surveillance, control, rights and privacy, The Governance of Cyberspace will develop contemporary theories and consider issues of access, equity and economic advancement. This book will be essential reading for students of social policy, politics, sociology, computing, information and communications technologies and public management and administration. It will also appeal to professionals in the area of informatics applications and should therefore become a standard text for political scientists, policy analysts, social scientists and lecturers in computing and information technology.
Organizing and governing cyberspace is a lot like herding cats. Even the concept of governance itself is a source of frenzied debate. Some see the online world as a nascent utopia that should be free of regulation, where the only rule should be the rule of technology itself. Others view the present state of online anarchy with alarm, as a threat to either vested power or perceived morality. And there are the so-called neo-Luddites who see humanity itself threatened by this new mode of interaction. The essays in
The Governance of Cyberspace: Politics, Technology and Global Restructuring attempt to steer a reasonable course between these extremes. A repeated premise is that governance is not necessarily a matter of imposed regulatory control but that it can arise naturally out of long-term interactions among groups and individuals. Contributors to this book include political theorists, computer scientists, social theorists, science fiction writers, psychologists, and sociologists. There are no attempts at easy answers here. Instead, the writers examine tradeoffs involved in difficult issues: the right to privacy versus protection from criminal activity; freedom of speech versus use of the Internet by hate groups; and the use of individually controlled technology versus the increase in cost that such solutions could mean for large numbers of Internet users. Given the increasing size, commercialization, and polarization of the Net, this careful exploration of the ramifications of governance is a welcome contribution.
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