Rise of Netpolitik: How the Internet Is Changing International Politics and Diplomacy

The Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program (C&S) released a report that examines how the Internet is impacting the conduct of diplomacy and world affairs. The report is based on a meeting of leaders aligned with politics, diplomacy, finance, high technology, academia, and philanthropy. In the report, trends are described in qualitative terms - that is, through perspectives offered by leading figures in the field - in sections that address the way in which electronic networks are changing the architecture of power and culture, the rise of "soft power", and international politics.

Here is an excerpt from the Conclusion:

"The Internet and other information technologies are no longer a peripheral force in the conduct of world affairs but a powerful engine for change. Global electronic networking is not only remaking economies, but transforming people's values, identities, and social practices. Moreover, these changes are not just occurring within the boundaries of nationstates but in all sorts of unpredictable transnational communications.

These changes are enabling all sorts of newcomers to enter the fray of international politics. NGOs, diasporic communities, critics of land mines and human rights abuses, antiglobalization protesters, journalists, indigenous peoples, and others are finding their own voices on a global public stage. More ominously, the very technology that is empowering civil society and businesses is enabling political extremists to build global terrorist networks and pioneer alarming new forms of warfare.

The new transnational flows of information are transforming some fundamental terms of power in international affairs. New types of soft power involving moral legitimacy and respect, credibility as an information source, and cultural values are coming to the fore. Military and financial powers that traditionally have belonged to the dominant nations are now constrained in new ways by soft power and the politics of credibility. A tighter skein of global interdependence may mean that unilateralism by any single nation, especially the United States, could be a more problematic policy approach..."

Click here for the full paper in PDF format.