Social Media Impacts On Conflict And Democracy

Social media technology is having a dramatic impact on social and political dynamics around the world. The contributors to this book document and illustrate this "techtonic" shift on violent conflict and democratic processes. They present vivid examples and case studies from countries in Africa, South and Southeast Asia, Latin America as well as Northern Ireland. Each author maps an array of peacebuilding solutions to social media threats, including coordinated action by civil society, governments and tech companies to protect human minds, relationships and institutions. Solutions presented include inoculating society with a new digital literacy agenda, designing technology for positive social impacts, and regulating technology to prohibit the worst behaviours. A must-read both for political scientists and policymakers trying to understand the impact of social media, and media studies scholars looking for a global perspective.

A state-of-the-art account of what we know and do not know about the effects of digital technology on democracy.

Social media increasingly shapes the way in which we perceive conflicts and conflict parties abroad. Conflict parties, therefore, have started using social media strategically to influence public opinion abroad. This book explores the phenomenon by examining, (1) which strategies of external communication conflict parties use during asymmetric conflicts and (2) what shapes the selection of these communication strategies. In a comprehensive case study of the conflict in Israel and Palestine, Bernd Hirschberger shows that the selection of strategies of external communication is shaped by the (asymmetric) conflict structure.

This book reflects on the rapid rise of social media across the African continent and the legal and extra-legal efforts governments have invented to try to contain it. The relentless growth of social media platforms in Africa has provided the means of resistance, self-expression, and national self-fashioning for the continent’s restlessly energetic and contagiously creative youth. This has provided a profound challenge to the African "gatekeeper state", which has often responded with strategies to constrict and constrain the rhetorical luxuriance of the social media and digital sphere. Drawing on cases from across the continent, contributors explore the form and nature of social media and government censorship, often via antisocial media laws, or less overt tactics such as state cybersurveillance, spyware attacks on social media activists, or the artful deployment of the rhetoric of "fake news" as a smokescreen to muzzle critical voices. The book also reflects on the Chinese influence in African governments’ clampdown on social media and the role of Israeli NSO Group Technologies, as well as the tactics and technologies which activists and users are deploying to resist or circumvent social media censorship. Drawing on a range of methodologies and disciplinary approaches, this book will be an important contribution to researchers with an interest in social media activism, digital rebellion, discursive democracy in transitional societies, censorship on the Internet, and Africa more broadly.

How social media is giving rise to a chaotic new form of politics As people spend increasing proportions of their daily lives using social media, such as Twitter and Facebook, they are being invited to support myriad political causes by sharing, liking, endorsing, or downloading. Chain reactions caused by these tiny acts of participation form a growing part of collective action today, from neighborhood campaigns to global political movements. Political Turbulence reveals that, in fact, most attempts at collective action online do not succeed, but some give rise to huge mobilizations—even revolutions. Drawing on large-scale data generated from the Internet and real-world events, this book shows how mobilizations that succeed are unpredictable, unstable, and often unsustainable. To better understand this unruly new force in the political world, the authors use experiments that test how social media influence citizens deciding whether or not to participate. They show how different personality types react to social influences and identify which types of people are willing to participate at an early stage in a mobilization when there are few supporters or signals of viability. The authors argue that pluralism is the model of democracy that is emerging in the social media age—not the ordered, organized vision of early pluralists, but a chaotic, turbulent form of politics. This book demonstrates how data science and experimentation with social data can provide a methodological toolkit for understanding, shaping, and perhaps even predicting the outcomes of this democratic turbulence.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Nudge and The World According to Star Wars, a revealing account of how today's Internet threatens democracy—and what can be done about it As the Internet grows more sophisticated, it is creating new threats to democracy. Social media companies such as Facebook can sort us ever more efficiently into groups of the like-minded, creating echo chambers that amplify our views. It's no accident that on some occasions, people of different political views cannot even understand one another. It's also no surprise that terrorist groups have been able to exploit social media to deadly effect. Welcome to the age of #Republic. In this revealing book, New York Times bestselling author Cass Sunstein shows how today’s Internet is driving political fragmentation, polarization, and even extremism--and what can be done about it. He proposes practical and legal changes to make the Internet friendlier to democratic deliberation, showing that #Republic need not be an ironic term. Rather, it can be a rallying cry for the kind of democracy that citizens of diverse societies need most.

A seminal shift has taken place in the relationship between Internet usage and politics. At the turn of the century, it was presumed that digital communication would produce many positive political effects like improvements to political information retrieval, support for public debate and community formation or even enhancements in citizen participation in political decision-making. While there have been positive effects, negative effects have also occurred including fake news and other political disinformation, social media appropriation by terrorists and extremists, ‘echo-chambers’ and "filter bubbles", elections influenced by hostile hackers and campaign manipulation by micro-targeting marketing. It is time for critical re-evaluation. Designed to encourage critical thinking on the part of the student, internationally recognized experts, Jan A.G.M. van Dijk and Kenneth Hacker, chronicle the political significance of new communication technologies for the promotion of democracy over the last two decades. Drawing upon structuration theory and network theory and real-world case studies from across the globe, the book is logically structured around the following topics: Political Participation and Inclusion Habermas and the Reconstruction of Public Space Media and Democracy in Authoritarian States Democracy and the Internet in China E-government and democracy Views of democracy and Internet use Underpinned by up-to-date literature, this important textbook is aimed at students and scholars of communication studies, political science, sociology, political communication, and international relations.

This book represents an interdisciplinary academic endeavour intended to provide readers with a comprehensive, balanced, and nuanced examination of critical issues at the intersection of cyberspace, cyberterrorism, and national and international security. It draws insights from a range of diverse fields, including Computer Science, Social Science, Political Science, International Relations, Criminology, and Law. Furthermore, the book investigates the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and related technologies, exploring their dual role in this dynamic landscape of contemporary cyberthreats, with both constructive and malicious implications. The book comprises four distinct themes, with each theme represented by a dedicated Part. Within this organisational framework, each overarching theme is systematically explored through a series of chapters, providing readers with a clear and thematic roadmap for their journey through the content. Part I, Understanding Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism Strategies, of the book explores complexities surrounding contemporary global security challenges. It serves as the foundational segment of the book, consisting of three chapters that critically analyse various dimensions of terrorism and the strategies implemented to combat it. Part II, Cyberterrorism Landscape, of the book offers an in-depth assessment of the current cyberterrorism landscape. This section comprises two critical chapters, each contributing to a comprehensive understanding of the contemporary threats posed by cyberterrorism and their implications for national security. Part III, Countering Cyberterrorism with Technology, of the book forms the core of the book’s exploration into leveraging technology to mitigate the threats of cyberterrorism. This section includes four critical chapters, collectively providing an in-depth understanding of the intersection between technology and counterterrorism strategies. Part IV, Artificial Intelligence and National and International Security, of the book delves into the complex relationship between AI technology and the broader security landscape. Comprising three pivotal chapters, this section provides a detailed understanding of AI’s transformative role in shaping the future of national and international security. This comprehensive resource serves as a valuable reference for law enforcement, policymakers, cybersecurity experts, researchers, academics, and technology enthusiasts interested in counter-terrorism efforts. By exploring the intricate landscape of cyberspace, this book equips readers with knowledge essential to addressing the evolving challenges posed by cyber terrorism. This comprehensive resource serves as a valuable reference for law enforcement, policymakers, cybersecurity experts, researchers, academics, and technology enthusiasts interested in counter-terrorism efforts. By exploring the intricate landscape of cyberspace, this book equips readers with knowledge essential to addressing the evolving challenges posed by cyber terrorism. This comprehensive resource serves as a valuable reference for law enforcement, policymakers, cybersecurity experts, researchers, academics, and technology enthusiasts interested in counter-terrorism efforts. By exploring the intricate landscape of cyberspace, this book equips readers with knowledge essential to addressing the evolving challenges posed by cyber terrorism. This comprehensive resource serves as a valuable reference for law enforcement, policymakers, cybersecurity experts, researchers, academics, and technology enthusiasts interested in counter-terrorism efforts. By exploring the intricate landscape of cyberspace, this book equips readers with knowledge essential to addressing the evolving challenges posed by cyber terrorism. This comprehensive resource serves as a valuable reference for law enforcement, policymakers, cybersecurity experts, researchers, academics, and technology enthusiasts interested in counter-terrorism efforts. By exploring the intricate landscape of cyberspace, this book equips readers with knowledge essential to addressing the evolving challenges posed by cyber terrorism. This comprehensive resource serves as a valuable reference for law enforcement, policymakers, cybersecurity experts, researchers, academics, and technology enthusiasts interested in counter-terrorism efforts. By exploring the intricate landscape of cyberspace, this book equips readers with knowledge essential to addressing the evolving challenges posed by cyber terrorism. This comprehensive resource serves as a valuable reference for law enforcement, policymakers, cybersecurity experts, researchers, academics, and technology enthusiasts interested in counter-terrorism efforts. By exploring the intricate landscape of cyberspace, this book equips readers with knowledge essential to addressing the evolving challenges posed by cyber terrorism. This comprehensive resource serves as a valuable reference for law enforcement, policymakers, cybersecurity experts, researchers, academics, and technology enthusiasts interested in counter-terrorism efforts. By exploring the intricate landscape of cyberspace, this book equips readers with knowledge essential to addressing the evolving challenges posed by cyber terrorism. /divThis comprehensive resource serves as a valuable reference for law enforcement, policymakers, cybersecurity experts, researchers, academics, and technology enthusiasts interested in counter-terrorism efforts. By exploring the intricate landscape of cyberspace, this book equips readers with knowledge essential to addressing the evolving challenges posed by cyber terrorism. /div