Tyranny and the Net

Dictatorship.com is a piece by The New Republic foreign editor Joshua Kurlantzick attacking the premise that the Internet will inevitably foster democratic, open societies by exposing people to new ideas and undermining authoritarian regimes.

But world leaders, journalists, and political scientists who tout the Internet as a powerful force for political change are just as wrong as the dot-com enthusiasts who not so long ago believed the Web would completely transform business. While it's true that the Internet has proved itself able to disseminate pop culture in authoritarian nations ... to date, its political impact has been decidedly limited. It has yet to topple -- or even seriously undermine -- its first tyrannical regime. In fact, in some repressive countries the spread of the Internet actually may be helping dictatorships remain in power. 

Kurlantzick argues that the Web is "in many ways ill-suited for expressing and organizing dissent." Specifically, it can't make up for a lack of organized opposition offline, the cybercafe setting doesn't encourage people to gather and talk politics, the Net can't reach the less educated as well as TV or radio, and the anarchy bred by giving everyone a voice undermines organized resistance.

But an even bigger problem, he writes, is "the ease with which authoritarian regimes have controlled and, in some cases, subverted" the Internet. They shut down opposition Web sites and aggressively censor where their citizens can go online -- often aided by Web-filtering and Web-monitoring technology sold by companies in the democratic West -- thereby creating an environment of willing self-censorship. In fact, such control of Internet access actually makes it easier for authoritarian governments to monitor opposition voices who foolishly communicate online.

Kurlantzick's piece has prompted some interesting, thoughtful responses across the blogosphere. Among them:

BuzzMachine's Jeff Jarvis savages Kurlantzick's argument with a withering rebuttal:

Well, how long did it take radio to topple a regime? Did radio ever topple a regime? Did TV? ... And besides, who set that as the pass-or-fail test of a medium as a catalyst of change: start a revolution or give up? ...

There's some strange, jealous agenda coming out of TNR: an old, fuddy-duddy activist viewpoint that says this new-fangled Internet thang can't be as good as old-fashioned pamphleteering and armed insurrection.

Matthew Cowie at Baodinger offers this elegant summation:

People have often said the Internet is a great tool for democracy. That's true in a democracy. In authoritarian countries the Internet just becomes a tool of oppression.

(Via Smart Mobs.)