[liberationtech] The Real Cyber War: The Political Economy of Internet Freedom

[Nick Judd]

This really does sound fascinating. I would love to know more about what 
this book does that earlier work coming off of trade presses (The Net 
Delusion, Consent of the Networked) did not already do. I am sure there 
is a long answer -- I would just like to know what it is ...


Nick Judd

On 03/11/2015 02:15 PM, Yasha Levine wrote:
> Have to say that I share David's enthusiasm. The book looks great and 
> is extremely timely.
>
> On Mar 11, 2015, at 12:08 PM, David Golumbia <dgolumbia at gmail.com 
> <mailto:dgolumbia at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>> wow. thanks for sharing this. from where I sit, that looks like 
>> hitting a nail on the head that has needed such a direct hit for 
>> quite a while. as the publisher's site tags it: "How the 
>> freedom-to-connect movement aids Western hegemony." Can't wait to 
>> read it.
>>
>> DG
>>
>> On Wed, Mar 11, 2015 at 2:55 PM, Shawn Mathew Powers <smp at gsu.edu 
>> <mailto:smp at gsu.edu>> wrote:
>>
>>     We are pleased to announce the release of The Real Cyber War: The
>>     Political Economy of Internet Freedom (University of Illinois
>>     Press, 2015,
>>     http://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/83cdd9wm9780252039126.html)
>>     by Shawn Powers (https://gsu.academia.edu/smp) and Michael
>>     Jablonski (http://www.realcyberwar.com/authors/). The book is on
>>     sale now
>>     (http://www.amazon.com/The-Real-Cyber-War-Communication/dp/025208070X/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1426072769&sr=1-1)
>>     for $25 (paperback). The Kindle edition
>>     (http://www.amazon.com/Real-Cyber-War-Political-Communication-ebook/dp/B00UGIKUVA/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-1&qid=1426072769)
>>     is just $11.75.
>>
>>     About the book: Discussions surrounding the role of the internet
>>     in society are dominated by terms such as internet freedom,
>>     surveillance, cybersecurity, and, most prolifically, cyber war.
>>     But behind the rhetoric of cyber war is an ongoing state-centered
>>     battle for control of information resources. Powers and Jablonski
>>     conceptualize this real cyber war as the utilization of digital
>>     networks for geopolitical purposes, including covert attacks
>>     against another state’s electronic systems, but also, and more
>>     importantly, the variety of ways the internet is used to further
>>     a state’s economic and military agendas.
>>
>>     Moving beyond debates on the democratic value of new and emerging
>>     information technologies, The Real Cyber War focuses on
>>     political, economic, and geopolitical factors driving internet
>>     freedom policies, in particular the U.S. State Department's
>>     emerging doctrine in support of a universal freedom to connect.
>>     They argue that efforts to create a universal internet built upon
>>     Western legal, political, and social preferences is driven by
>>     economic and geopolitical motivations rather than the
>>     humanitarian and democratic ideals that typically accompany
>>     related policy discourse. In fact, the freedom-to-connect
>>     movement is intertwined with broader efforts to structure global
>>     society in ways that favor American and Western cultures,
>>     economies, and governments.
>>
>>     Table of Contents:
>>
>>     Introduction: Geopolitics & the Internet
>>
>>     1. Information Freedom & US Foreign Policy: A History
>>
>>     2. The Information Industrial Complex
>>
>>     3. Google, Information & Power
>>
>>     4. The Economics of Internet Connectivity
>>
>>     5. The Myth of Multistakeholder Governance
>>
>>     6. Towards Information Sovereignty
>>
>>     7. Internet Freedom in a Surveillance Society
>>
>>     Conclusion: Taming Geopolitics
>>
>>     Reviews:
>>
>>     "A knowing, wide-ranging, perceptive, important, and original
>>     book. Powers and Jablonski connect disparate and significant
>>     dots; weave history, technology, and law together; and explain
>>     interrelated complex concepts imaginatively. They tell a
>>     compelling story key for any student of transnational information
>>     flows."--Monroe Price, author of Media and Sovereignty: The
>>     Global Information Revolution and its Challenge to State Power
>>
>>     "As governments, companies, civil society, and other stakeholders
>>     struggle towards a new global information and communication order
>>     in the post-Snowden world, this equally provocative and important
>>     book cuts through the Western rhetoric of 'Internet freedom' and
>>     draws a sobering picture of how policy-making in this space is
>>     ultimately a fight for control over information, which is largely
>>     driven by economic and geopolitical interests rather than
>>     democratic ideals and human rights."--Urs Gasser, Executive
>>     Director, Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Harvard University
>>
>>     Where to learn more?
>>
>>     University of Illinois Press
>>     (http://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/83cdd9wm9780252039126.html)
>>
>>
>>     Amazon
>>     (http://www.amazon.com/The-Real-Cyber-War-Communication/dp/025208070X/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1426072769&sr=1-1)
>>
>>
>>     Realcyberwar.com <http://Realcyberwar.com>
>>
>>     Feedback and questions are welcome. Also, if you are working on a
>>     similar or related project, please get in touch! All the best,
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>     —————————————————
>>
>>     Shawn Powers, PhD
>>     Assistant Professor, Communication
>>     Associate Director, CIME
>>     Georgia State University
>>     smp at gsu.edu <mailto:smp at gsu.edu>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>>
>>
>> -- 
>> David Golumbia
>> dgolumbia at gmail.com <mailto:dgolumbia at gmail.com>
>> -- 
>> Liberationtech is public & archives are searchable on Google. 
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>

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