The Political Internet

The growth of communication technologies has raised a host of questions about politics and deliberation in democratic societies. This compilation contains five guides that answer some of the more pressing questions. The compilation is comprised of: Citizen Power and the Internet, The Propaganda Model and the Internet: Smashing the Gateway, Ricoeur's Hermeneutic Arc and the Internet: The Changing Narrative Landscape, Democracy and Postmodern Identity, and Democracy and the Internet.

Citizen Power and the Internet

The rapid adoption of communication technologies, like the Internet, in democratic public spheres has raised the question of whether these new technologies have had a positive or a negative effect upon democratic citizenship. This guide uses Steven Lukes' three-dimensional analysis of power to examine arguments of technological determinism that cast a negative light on the technology, and Castells' positive analysis of mass self-communication.

The Propaganda Model and the Internet

Herman and Chomsky's 'The Propaganda Model', outlined in Manufacturing Consent, describes how they believed the print and broadcast mass media were manipulating information flow into the US public sphere. This ebook begins with a detailed description of the model. It then examines how computer mediated communication, like the Internet, circumvents the information filters and loosens the stranglehold of the mass media.

Ricoeur's Hermeneutic Arc and the Internet

The rise of interactive online games has challenged traditional notions of storytelling, where author tells and audience listens. This ebook uses Ricoeur's concept of a 'hermeneutic arc' to demonstrate how narratives in online games such as World of Warcraft differ from those presented through traditional media such as print and film. The analysis includes the book The Hobbit, the films Apocalypse Now and My Life as a Dog, the graphic novel Watchmen, and the online role-playing game World of Warcraft.

Democracy and Postmodern Identity

The Internet makes it difficult for people to tell exactly whom they are communicating with because online identity can often rely totally upon communicative interactions. Mark Poster argues that this uncertainty- the postmodern identity- can cause difficulties for some democratic public spheres. This guide examines Poster's arguments of the postmodern identity, then applies them to three different deliberative democracy theories- those of Rawls, Habermas, and Dryzek.

Democracy and the Internet

Computer communication technologies, such as the Internet, have become very common in many democratic public spheres throughout the world. The often-asked question is how people can use them for political purposes. Using several real world examples and the deliberative democracy theories of Rawls, Habermas, and Dryzek, this guide answers that question, and shows just what effect they have on the power of citizens.