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In the midst of rapid socio-political transition, Myanmar is building its telecommunications infrastructure by opening its market to international mobile companies and engaging in national regulatory reform. With one of the lowest internet and mobile subscriber rates in the world, Myanmar faces multiple challenges in building connectivity from both an infrastructural and a policy perspective. Telecom developments could play a significant role in modernizing the country as it emerges from decades of political repression, and although the domestic connectivity plan is moving forward, several challenges need to be dealt with quickly in order to ensure a safe and accessible digital environment. This paper explores connectivity developments in Myanmar, paying particular attention to the opening of the mobile market to international companies, the launch of the new national telecom law, and the development of policies securing digital rights.

Defense Date: 24/09/2010 ; Examining Board: Prof. Alexander Trechsel, EUI (Supervisor) Prof. Donatella Della Porta, EUI Prof. R. Michael Alvarez, California Institute of Technology Prof. Jan A.G.M. van Dijk, University of Twente ; This study explores the relation between Internet and politics from a cross-national perspective of analysis. In the domain of the political sciences, the Internet has been welcomed for its potential to facilitate political practice. However, it is also commonly noted that the Internet is not equally distributed and not everybody can equally make the most of its potential. This is why the Digital Divide is perceived as the obstacle which limits the potential of the Internet to influence politics. Today, we are entering the third decade after the advent of the WWW, and the Internet is used far more broadly worldwide. We also have much more empirical evidence about Internet use. However, most research until now has concentrated on Western countries which have similar political systems, and therefore neglects a larger comparative perspective. This study empirically resizes the relation of causality between the Digital Divide and the influence of the Internet on politics. I explore how other contextual factors are determinant in this regard. In order to test this empirically, I set up a dataset tracking internet use, internet infrastructure, internet politics, blogging practices and social, economic and democratic factors of over 190 countries. Through cross-national analysis, first, I size the current status of the Digital Divide across countries. Second, I explore whether and how this scenario affects the inequalities in using the Internet for practicing politics. By following a constructivist approach, I explore not only how political parties are unequally present online across countries to perform conventional forms of politics, but also how citizens and social movements use the Internet to practice civic engagement. I pay particular attention to how people use social network organization tools to empower their own information narratives. My empirical findings confirm that the Digital Divide plays a limited role in explaining the relation between the Internet and politics. Rather, the use of the Internet to practice politics is mainly determined by the political context in which political actors operate. In this framework, the Digital Divide is only one of the several factors characterizing the national context.

The Internet has largely been greeted as a technology able to create new spaces of political debate. In order to investigate the issue, scholars have paid attention to how transnational social movements use new information technologies. This has been done mainly exploring the use of the World Wide Web (WWW). However, new political spaces do not take place just on the WWW, and by consequence, research in this field cannot solely carry out Web analysis to explore the role played by the Internet in creating political debate. In looking at other areas of the Internet to understand the creation of new political space, other analytical approaches need to be adopted. The Internet also includes tools other than the WWW, such as E-Mailing Lists, collaborative on-line software, Peer-to-Peer Networks, Instant Messaging tools, and so forth. This paper explores the role that E-Mailing Lists play in creating new political spaces. To explore if and how this happens, I illustrate this crucial point with an analysis of the use of E-Mailing Lists by social movements. The case I will use is that of the organization of the protest during the G8 Summit held in Genoa in July 2001.

Global internet governance: an unchartered diplomacy terrain? / by Meryem Marzouki and Andrea Calderaro -- Undiplomatic ties : when internet blocks intermediation / by Yves Schemeil -- Diplomacy and internet governance : a conceptual re-assessment / by Katharina Höne.

International audience ; As the introduction of the volume co-edited by the authors and entitled 'Internet Diplomacy: Shaping the Global Politics of Cyberspace', this chapter sets the scene for the discussion about Cyber Diplomacy. It provides an overview of the most recent threat vectors, discusses their evolution, and present the main policy dilemmas in the global internet governance domain. The chapter then presents an overview of the theoretical approaches that have so far attempted to explain these developments. This is even more relevant in the case of the European Union policymaking and on the emerging of an EU Cyber Diplomacy capacity. Subsequently, this chapter provides a clear framework and definition of Internet Diplomacy, and describes the analytical framework for the book. Finally, it presents all the subsequent chapters.

Article first published online: 15 MAR 2013 ; The Internet has multiplied the platforms available to influence public opinion and policymaking. It has also provided citizens with a greater capacity for coordination and mobilization, which can strengthen their voice and representation in the policy agenda. As waves of protest sweep both authoritarian regimes and liberal democracies, this rapidly developing field calls for more detailed inquiry. However, research exploring the relationship between online mobilization and policy change is still limited.

The intricate relationship between Internet, on the one hand, and Human Rights, on the other, is increasingly becoming relevant in foreign policy. Discussions are animated by different actors, providing contributions from multiple perspectives, yet the debate on Internet and Human Rights is still fragmented and has not evolved into a unified agenda. This paper explores this on-going debate over competing perspectives, and frames the current discussion on Internet and Human Rights in foreign policy by providing an overview of the key governmental conferences addressing the Internet and Human rights over the first 3 years (2010-2012) since the beginning of the debate. It then proceeds to analyze key narratives, stakeholders and agendas within these conferences, as well as questions of power and legitimacy. Finally, it argues that the conferences draw from a common discourse and language, but are also representing divergent agendas between stakeholders and states.