Evgeny Morozov 'The Internet in Society' (2011)
https://www.youtube.com/embed/Uk8x3V-sUgU
Quote: "Foreign policy can never be the same again — and it's all because of the internet, Gordon Brown https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Brown said in an exclusive interview with the Guardian. Referring to the so-called Twitter revolution in Iran, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Iranian_presidential_election_protests the prime minister said technological advances and the democratisation of information mean 'foreign policy can no longer be the province of just a few elites'. 'You cannot have Rwanda https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwandan_genocide again,' he said. 'This week's events in Iran are a reminder of the way that people are using new technology to come together in new ways to make their views known.' He described the internet era as 'more tumultuous than any previous economic or social revolution'. 'For centuries, individuals have been learning how to live with their next-door neighbours,' he added. 'Now, uniquely, we're having to learn to live with people who we don't know. 'People have now got the ability to speak to each other across continents, to join with each other in communities that are not based simply on territory, streets, but networks; and you've got the possibility of people building alliances right across the world.'" (Viner, K., 2009). Concept: 'Arab Spring' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Spring Concept: Cyber-utopianism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyber-utopianism Related: "The new media are viewed as being the answer to humanity’s problems; they will create the perfect society. Viewing technical innovations in this manner is not new, as Marvin (1988) has demonstrated. Utopic visions have long accompanied technological evolution. ‘Utopia’ was the imaginary island envisioned by Thomas More in the 1500s. Its inhabitants had created an earthly paradise by adhering to a pious life and a communal spirit as well as to technical pursuit. In the following centuries, the Enlightenment gave rise to the notion of utopia that could be attained through continual technological and social development" (Karim, K. H., 2001, p.118). Bibliography: 'Evgeny Morozov: The Internet in Society'. (2025, March 13). RSA Animate. https://www.thersa.org/videos/rsa-animate-the-internet-in-society/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evgeny_Morozov Viner, K. (2009, June 19). 'Internet has changed foreign policy for ever, says Gordon Brown'. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/jun/19/gordon-brown-internet-foreign-policy Karim, K. H. (2001). "Cyber-Utopia and the Myth of Paradise: Using Jacques Ellul's Work on Propaganda to Analyse Information Society Rhetoric." Information, Communication & Society 4(1): 113–134. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691180121788 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315390281_CYBER-UTOPIA_AND_THE_MYTH_OF_PARADISE_USING_JACQUES_ELLUL%27S_WORK_ON_PROPAGANDA_TO_ANALYSE_INFORMATION_SOCIETY_RHETORIC https://www.scss.tcd.ie/brendan.tangney/ComputersAndSociety/0809slides/KarimOnEllul.pdf Marvin, C. (1988) 'When Old Technologies Were New', Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://monoskop.org/images/c/c7/Marvin_Carolyn_When_Old_Technologies_Were_New_Thinking_About_Electric_Communication_in_the_Late_Nineteenth_Century_1988.pdf
