CYBER-POLITICS

CYBER-POLITICS

Cyber politics, this involve information dissemination, communication exchange and the formation of electronic political coalitions across the internet.

This includes a variety of media such as e-mail, web pages, discussion groups, online databases, research and online news.

There are six forms of cyber politics.  These are: -

1. Internet working
2. The capital and information flows
3. Direct cyber activism
4. Contesting and the construction of the Internet
5. Alternative Media and
6. The new Online community formations.

  Internet working;

The Internet has enabled the wide spread expansion of established movements. The following  

distinguish three types of internetworking:

 a) organization and network coordination,

 b) grass roots global internetworking, and

c) direct action coordination.

1. Organization coordination:
   Just as many mainstream corporations and media now have an Internet presence and increasingly conduct their affairs on the net, traditional social movement organizations such as ACLU, NAACP, and AFL-CIO and new social movements such as NOW, ACT-UP, and Greenpeace maintain online resources and organize online in diverse ways. The Internet is now used as an effective medium to extend the reach of existing struggles and enable new actions. A number of more established environmental groups, feminists, human rights, and other movement groups have had web sites for years. Many organize through lusters and provide websites with alternative information/articles, news/plans of demonstrations and ways that people can get more information, more involved etc. social movements have expanded on a global scale inform the activities of United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) movement for University disinvestments and monitoring of that.  
2. Grass roots global internetworking:
   Various AGMs as alternative globalization movement protests are expressions of a form of political networking and internetworking, often across a wide variety networks/movements cooperating with others at odds, that culminate in mobilizations and diverse sets of actions by a diversity of groups. A fundamental change in social movement activity is the linking of diverse movements into super movement spheres for the networking of information and resources and the creation of universal social justice and rights charters. The various memberships and universal charters overlap in networks that forward social justice initiatives in many social domains. Waterman (1998) has noted that old labor movement organizations are making links with new social movements such as feminist organizations. Other movements are doing the same. International environmental groups now participate in social justice and labor issues. Feminist organizations are involved in diverse spheres of activity. Peace movement strategies include social justice and environmental work. Such global internet workings and the global charters are signs of the actualization of a global sphere of movement activity.
   
   
3. Direct action coordination:
   Action “on the streets” has been coordinated directly via cell phone and via PDAs accessing websites for updates on the logistics of campaigns. Such tactics were used in Washington D.C. during A16 2000 mobilizations.

By: Ulaya Sijali A. (BAPRM 42681)

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