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Contemporary discussion surrounding the role of the internet in society is dominated by words like: internet freedom, surveillance, cybersecurity, Edward Snowden and, most prolifically, cyber war. Behind the rhetoric of cyber war is an on-going state-centered battle for control of information resources. Shawn Powers and Michael 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. Thought-provoking and far-seeing, The Real Cyber War reveals how internet policies and governance have emerged as critical sites of geopolitical contestation, with results certain to shape statecraft, diplomacy, and conflict in the twenty-first century.
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The Real Cyber War The Political Economy of Internet Freedom Shawn M. Powers & Michael Jablonski The Real Cyber War the history of communic ation Robert W. McChesney and John C. Nerone, editors A list of books in the series appears at the end of this book. The Real Cyber War The Political Economy of Internet Freedom Shawn M. Powers and Michael Jablonski Universit y of Illinois Press Urbana, Chicago, and Springfield © 2015 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 c p 5 4 3 2 1 ∞ This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Powers, Shawn M., 1981– The real cyber war : the political economy of Internet freedom / Shawn M. Powers and Michael Jablonski. pages cm. — (History of communication) Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-252-03912-6 (hardback) — isbn 978-0-252-08070-8 (paperback) — isbn 978-0-252-09710-2 (e-book) 1. Internet—Political aspects. 2. Internet and international relations. 3. Internet governance. 4. Internet—Government policy—United States. I. Jablonski, Michael. II. Title. hm851.p6878 2015 303.48'33—dc23 2014036202 Contents Preface vii List of Abbreviations and Acronyms xi Introduction: Geopolitics and the Internet 1 1 Information Freedom and U.S. Foreign Policy: A History 27 2 The Information-Industrial Complex 50 3 Google, Information, and Power 74 4 The Economics of Internet Connectivity 99 5 The Myth of Multistakeholder Governance 129 6 Toward Information Sovereignty 155 7 Internet Freedom in a Surveillance Society 180 Conclusion 203 Notes 209 Index 261 Preface The genesis of The Real Cyber War was a series of discussions we had trying to make sense of developments in global communications since the end of the Cold War. The evolution of a global communication order resulted in a system characterized not only by shifting re