Political Change in the Digital Age: a Berkman Center Paper Release

[Source: The Berkman Center for Internet & Society, December 10, 2010]

The Berkman Center for Internet & Society is pleased to announce the release of a new paper:

"Political Change in the Digital Age: The Fragility and Promise of Online Organizing" by Bruce Etling, Robert Faris, and John Palfrey

From the paper's abstract:

In this paper, we discuss the possible impact of digital technologies in authoritarian and semi-authoritarian regimes. We conclude that policymakers and scholars that have been most optimistic about the impact of digital tools have over-emphasized the role of information, specifically access to alternative and independent sources of information and unfiltered access to the Internet. We argue, in contrast, that more attention should be paid to the means of overcoming the difficulties of online organization in the face of authoritarian governments in an increasingly digital geopolitical environment.

For more information about the Berkman Center's research on issues related to Internet & Democracy, please visit their site at: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/research/internetdemocracy.