Alan Sondheim on Tue, 18 Jan 2000 06:51:06 +0100 (CET) |
[Date Prev] [Date Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Index] [Thread Index]
<nettime> Virtual States info (fwd) |
(Jerry has been a member for a longtime of the Cybermind list, and participated in the Cybermind Conference, 1996 - I can strongly recommend this work - Alan) ********************************************************************* ******* VIRTUAL STATES: The Internet and the Boundaries of the Nation-State ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Author: Jerry Everard Publisher: Routledge London and NY Year of publication: 2000 (now available) ISBN: 0-415-17214-4 (pbk) VIRTUAL STATES challenges the idea that the nation-state is dead. In all the hype about the Internet, little thought has been given to the systematic inequalities being brought about by globalisation, and exacerbated by the global spread of the Internet. Jerry Everard argues that new disparities are emerging between the information 'haves' and the information 'have-nots'; between wealthy and poor states; and between the wealthy and poor in wealthy states. VIRTUAL STATES systematically addresses these inequalities. The book argues that there are two economies embodied in nation-states: the goods and services economy, and the identity economy. While the state's role in the first may be diminishing, its role in the latter is stronger than ever. In today's climate of change and uncertainty, people are turning to nationalism and engaging in regional conflicts over identity. Jerry Everard suggests that identity is the outcome of boundary-making processes: ways of identifying self from other; 'us' from 'them'. The Internet's ability to cross borders with impunity challenges traditional, state-based identity structures. What is needed, he argues, is a theoretical framework within which states can be disaggregated into multiple sets of identities. This book provides just such a framework. Structured in four parts, with detailed chapter summaries, VIRTUAL STATES presents a compact and accessible theoretical and historical introduction to the Internet, its relationship to the developing world, the Internet in relation to the developed world and the Internet and society. The book also covers such issues as war, censorship and the philosophical implications of hypertext, which is at the heart of the Net. Written for the general reader, this book is also a core resource for those interested in the implictions of the Internet in international relations, cultural studies and international political economy. JERRY EVERARD is in the Department of English and Theatre Studies at the Australian National University. ************************************************************************ # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: majordomo@bbs.thing.net and "info nettime-l" in the msg body # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime@bbs.thing.net