Digital Processes And Democratic Theory Dynamics Risks And Opportunities That Arise When Democratic Institutions Meet Digital Information And Communication Technologies

Digital Processes and Democratic Theory: Dynamics, Risks and Opportunities that Arise when Democratic Institutions Meet Digital Information and Communication Technologies

New Technologies as a Factor of International Relations

This book provides a theoretical and empirical analysis of the multidimensional influences of technological development on contemporary international relations. The contributions here are drawn from different disciplines, including political science, international relations, sociology, economy, law, biochemistry and bioethics, as well as from different locations, including Poland, the US, Brazil and Israel. This variety allows the complexity of the issues, challenges and implications of technological changes on the structure, functioning and substantive scope of international relations to be fully presented and explored. This collection represents essential reading for anyone with an interest in the dynamic interplay between modern technologies and the transformation of the contemporary international system, and especially for international relations scholars and students.

The Dark Side of Our Digital World

An all-in-one guide to understanding and managing the dark side of our digital lives. It all started out so well: the online world began as an effective tool for communication that carried with it a great promise to level the playing field and eliminate borders. But it’s morphed into something totally unintended. We’ve all had to endure the troll that derails a generally benign conversation; or received that scam email from a wealthy Nigerian prince; or felt the strange feeling of being watched and tracked by advertising companies as we navigate the web. Welcome to the modern internet. These are but a few of the topics that The Dark Side of Our Digital World: And What You Can Do about It examines to get at the root causes of our current problems with information technology, social media, and problematic online behavior. The book explores the issues raised by the negative side of information technology, including surveillance and spying, declining privacy, information overload, surveillance capitalism and big data analytics, conspiracy theories and fake news, misinformation and disinformation, trolling and phishing. What’s ultimately at stake is how we are able to cope with increasingly invasive anti-social behaviors, the overall decline of privacy in the face of total surveillance technologies, and the lack of a quality online experience that doesn’t devolve into flame wars and insults. The future of the internet as well as our societies depends upon our ability to discern truth from lies and reality from propaganda. The book will therefore also examine the possible directions we could take to improve the situation, looking at solutions in the areas of psychology and behavioral conditioning, social engineering through nudging techniques, the development of e-democracy movements, and the implementation of public policy.