<br><div class="gmail_quote"><br><br><a href="http://technosociology.org/?p=286" target="_blank">http://technosociology.org/?p=286</a><br>
<br>
In another blog, Zeynep examines the internet's potential from the regime's<br>
point of view, i.e. the 'dictator's dilemma':<br>
<br>
"1- The capacities of the Internet that are most threatening to authoritarian<br>
regimes are not necessarily those pertaining to spreading of censored<br>
information but rather its ability to support the formation of a counter-public<br>
that is outside the control of the state. In other words, it is not that people<br>
are waiting for that key piece of information to start their revolt�and that<br>
information just happens to be behind the wall of censorship�but that they are<br>
isolated, unsure of the power of the regime, unsure of their position and<br>
potential.<br>
2- Dissent is not just about knowing what you think but about the formation of a<br>
public. A public is not just about what you know. Publics form through knowing<br>
that other people know what you know�and also knowing that they know what you<br>
know. (This point was developed through a Twitter discussion with Dave Parry).<br>
Yes, all those parts of the Web that are ridiculed by some of the critics of<br>
Internet�s potential�the LOLcats, Facebook, the three million baby pictures, the<br>
slapstick, talking about the weather, the food and the trials and tribulations<br>
of life�are exactly the backbone of community, and ultimately the creation of<br>
public(s).<br>
3- Thus, social media can be the most threatening part of the Internet to an<br>
authoritarian regime through its capacity to create a public(ish) sphere that is<br>
integrated into everyday life of millions of people and is outside the direct<br>
control of the state partly because it is so widespread and partly because it is<br>
not solely focused on politics. How do you censor five million Facebook accounts<br>
in real time except to shut them all down?<br>
4- The capacity to selectively filter the Internet is inversely proportional to<br>
the scale and strength of the dissent. In other words, regimes which employ<br>
widespread legitimacy may be able to continue to selectively filter the<br>
Internet. However, this is going to break down as dissent and unhappiness<br>
spreads. As anyone who has been to a country with selective filtering knows,<br>
most everyone (who is motivated enough) knows how to get around the censors. For<br>
example, in Turkey, YouTube occasionally gets blocked because of material that<br>
some courts have deemed as offensive to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founding<br>
father of Turkey. I have yet to meet anyone in Turkey who did not know how to<br>
get to YouTube through proxies.<br>
5- Thus, the effect of selective filtering is not to keep out information out of<br>
the hands of a determined public, but to allow the majority of ordinary people<br>
to continue to be able to operate without confronting information that might<br>
create cognitive dissonance between their existing support for the regime and<br>
the fact that they, along with many others, also have issues. Meanwhile, the<br>
elites go about business as if there was no censorship as they all know how to<br>
use work-arounds. This creates a safety-valve as it is quite likely that it is<br>
portions of the elite groups that would be most hindered by the censorship and<br>
most unhappy with it. (In fact, I have not seen any evidence that China is<br>
trying to actively and strongly shut down the work-arounds.)<br>
6- Social media is not going to create dissent where there is none. The apparent<br>
strength of the regime in China should not be understood solely through its<br>
success in censorship. (And this is the kind of Net-centrism Morozov warns<br>
against but that I think he sometimes falls into himself). China has undergone<br>
one of the most amazing transformations in human history. Whatever else you may<br>
say about the brutality of the regime, there is a reason for its continuing<br>
legitimacy in the eyes of most of its people. I believe that the Chinese people<br>
are no less interested in freedom and autonomy than any other people on the<br>
planet but I can also understand why they have, for the most part, appear to<br>
have support for the status-quo even as they continue to have further<br>
aspirations and desires.<br>
7- Finally, during times of strong upheaval, as in Egypt, dictator�s dilemma<br>
roars. The ability to ensure that their struggle and their efforts are not<br>
buried in a deep pit of censorship, the ability to continue to have an honest<br>
conversation, the ability to know that others know what one knows all combine to<br>
create a cycle furthering dissent and upheaval. Citizen-journalism matters most<br>
in these scenarios as there cannot be reporters everywhere something is<br>
happening; however, wherever something is happening there are people with cell<br>
phone cameras. Combined with Al-Jazeera re-broadcasting the fruits of<br>
people-powered journalism, it all comes down to how much force the authoritarian<br>
state is willing and able to deploy � which in turn, depends on the willingness<br>
of the security apparatus. Here, too, social media matters because, like<br>
everyone else, they too are watching the footage on Al-Jazeera. Their choice is<br>
made more stark by the fact that they know that history will judge them by their<br>
actions�actions which will likely be recorded, broadcast and be viewed by their<br>
citizens, their neighbors and their children and grandchildren."<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
</div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>P2P Foundation: <a href="http://p2pfoundation.net" target="_blank">http://p2pfoundation.net</a>� - <a href="http://blog.p2pfoundation.net" target="_blank">http://blog.p2pfoundation.net</a> <br>
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