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

Wed Mar 11 17:36:22 PDT 2015

Hi! Thanks for the query below! Thrilled that folks are excited about the book. Happy to talk about it at length...

Rebecca and Evgeny both wrote excellent books, as have others. The Real Cyber War differs in a few ways that may be interesting to LibTech folks. For example, it:
• Outlines the role of the CIA in propping up Silicon Valley after the dot-com bubble burst;
• Draws from extensive FOIA and interview data to demonstrate close and strategic ties between NSA, Google and other parts of the industry;
• Suggests a path forward grounded in restoring international law relating to the secrecy of communications, an idea codified in the two earliest international conventions in history;
• Offers a wholesale critique of multi-stakeholderism (in relation to internet governance), focusing on ISOC, IETF and ICANN in particular;
• Provides an in-depth analysis of Google’s strategic plans and suggests a framework for thinking through the responsibility of governments to regulate big data markets moving forward;
• Traces the rise of regimes of ‘information sovereignty,’ comparing the various ways and strategies in which governments are increasingly effective at controlling information flows in both democratic and non-democratic contexts.

Hoping that some of these topics are of interest, and happy to discuss further of course. Thanks again — really appreciate the enthusiasm and look forward to reactions, comments, etc. All the best,

sp

—————————————————

Shawn Powers, PhD
Assistant Professor, Communication
Associate Director, CIME
Georgia State University
smp at gsu.edu<mailto:smp at gsu.edu>
realcyberwar.com<http://realcyberwar.com>

Fellow
Center for Media, Data and Society
Central European University

On Wed, Mar 11, 2015 at 9:05 PM, Nick Judd <nick at nclarkjudd.com<mailto:nick at nclarkjudd.com>> wrote:
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>
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