This book is explicitly modernist at a time when many scholars have either forgotten the emancipatory promise of the Enlightenment or railed against it in the name of postmodernism. The book, broadly, adopts a hybrid epistemology that utilises the critical insights of Geisteswissenschaften Tradition (Weberian ‘Ideal-Type Analysis’) and the Habermas (1988) notions of the ‘public sphere’ and deliberative/dialogic democracy (‘ideal speech’) to advance a general proposition of democratic renewal by way of cyberdemocracy. Curiously, as democracy spreads across the world in the age of globalisation, it has also been accompanied by increased discontent with democratic systems. To that end, this book is not overly concerned with saving democracy beyond the liberal representative model, rather the focus is on how modern representative democracy has failed and how cyberdemocracy might function as a more effective model that truly represents the people by broadening participation and reflexive deliberation.

In Cyberdemocracy the arguments for and against "electronic democracy" and the potential for information and communication technology are closely examined. Theoretical analysis is supported by a series of empirical case studies.

In this volume, contributors from academia, industry, and policy explore the inter-connections among economic development, socio-political democracy and defense and security in the context of a profound transformation, spurred by globalization and supported by the rapid development of information and communication technologies (ICT). This powerful combination of forces is changing the way we live and redefining the way companies conduct business and national governments pursue strategies of innovation, economic growth and diplomacy. Integrating theoretical frameworks, empirical research and case studies, the editors and contributors have organized the chapters into three major sections, focusing on cyber-development, cyber-democracy and cyber-defense. The authors define cyber-development as a set of tools, methodologies and practices that leverage ICT to catalyze and accelerate social, political and economic development, with an emphasis on making the transition to knowledge-based economies. One underlying understanding here is that knowledge, knowledge creation, knowledge production and knowledge application (innovation) behave as crucial drivers for enhancing democracy, society, and the economy. By promoting dissemination and sharing of knowledge, cyber-democracy allows a knowledge conversion of the local into the global (gloCal) and vice versa, resulting in a gloCal platform for communication and knowledge interaction and knowledge enhancement. Meanwhile, technology-enabled interconnectivity increases the need to adopt new methods and actions for protection against existing threats and possible challenges to emerge in the future. The final section contemplates themes of cyber-defense and security, as well as emerging theories and values, legal aspects and trans-continental links (NATO, international organizations and bilateral relations between states). Collectively, the authors present a unique collection of insights and perspectives on the challenges and opportunities inspired by connectivity.

Essays on the promise and dangers of the Internet for democracy.

The internet opens up new opportunities for citizens to organize and mobilize for action but it also provides new channels that established political, social and economic interests can use to extend their powers. Will the internet revolutionize politics? The Prospect of Internet Democracy is a rich and detailed exploration of the theoretical implications of the internet and related information and communication technologies (ICTs) for democratic theory. Focusing in particular on how political uses of the internet have affected or seem likely to affect patterns of influence among citizens, interest groups and political institutions, the authors examine whether the internet's impact on democratic politics is destined to repeat the history of other innovative ICTs. The volume explores the likely long-term effects of such uses on the conduct of politics in the USA and other nations that declare themselves modern democracies and assesses the extent to which they help or hinder viable democratic governance.

Science and tech expert George Zarkadakis presents an indispensable guide to making liberal democracies more inclusive, and the digital economy more equitable in the coming Fourth Industrial Revolution. Around the world, liberal democracies are in crisis. Citizens have lost faith in their government; right-wing nationalist movements frame the political debate. At the same time, economic inequality is increasing dramatically; digital technologies have created a new class of super-rich entrepreneurs. Automation threatens to transform the free economy into a zero-sum game in which capital wins and labor loses. But is this digital dystopia inevitable? In Cyber Republic, George Zarkadakis presents an alternative, outlining a plan for using technology to make liberal democracies more inclusive and the digital economy more equitable. Cyber Republic is no less than a guide for the coming Fourth Industrial Revolution.

In the sciences, the merits and ramifications of open accessa the electronic publishing model that gives readers free, irrevocable, worldwide, and perpetual access to researcha have been vigorously debated. Open access is now increasingly proposed as a valid means of both disseminating knowledge and career advancement. In Digitize This Book! Gary Hall presents a timely and ambitious polemic on the potential that open access publishing has to transform both a papercentrica humanities scholarship and the institution of the university itself.