The internet and power in one-party East Asian states

Washington Quarterly

Volumn 25, Issue 3, 2002, Pages 41-58

  Hachigian, Nina ^a  

^a RAND   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0038891504     PISSN: 0163660X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1162/01636600260046226     Document Type: Review

References (49)

1. The term "one-party state" refers to states ruled by the same party continuously for at least a generation. This definition encompasses authoritarian governments, such as North Korea, and illiberal democracies, such as Singapore. Both have been accused of attempting to control the Internet.
2. See, for example, Shanthi Kalathil and Taylor Boas, "The Internet and State Control in Authoritarian Regimes: China, Cuba, and the Counterrevolution," Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Information Revolution and World Politics Project Working Papers, no. 21 (July 2001), http://www.ceip.org/files/pdf/21KalathilBoas.pdf (accessed April 15, 2002); Geoffrey Taubman, "A Not-So World Wide Web: The Internet, China and the Challenges to Non-Democratic Rule," Political Communications 15 (1998). For discussions of the relationship of information technologies and democracy, see Christopher R. Kedzie, Communication and Democracy: Coincident Revolution and the Emergent Dictator's Dilemma (Santa Monica, Calif: RAND, 1997); Pippa Norris, Digital Divide: Civic Engagement, Information Poverty and the Internet in Democratic Societies (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001).
3. See, for example, Shanthi Kalathil and Taylor Boas, "The Internet and State Control in Authoritarian Regimes: China, Cuba, and the Counterrevolution," Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Information Revolution and World Politics Project Working Papers, no. 21 (July 2001), http://www.ceip.org/files/pdf/21KalathilBoas.pdf (accessed April 15, 2002); Geoffrey Taubman, "A Not-So World Wide Web: The Internet, China and the Challenges to Non-Democratic Rule," Political Communications 15 (1998). For discussions of the relationship of information technologies and democracy, see Christopher R. Kedzie, Communication and Democracy: Coincident Revolution and the Emergent Dictator's Dilemma (Santa Monica, Calif: RAND, 1997); Pippa Norris, Digital Divide: Civic Engagement, Information Poverty and the Internet in Democratic Societies (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001).
4. See, for example, Shanthi Kalathil and Taylor Boas, "The Internet and State Control in Authoritarian Regimes: China, Cuba, and the Counterrevolution," Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Information Revolution and World Politics Project Working Papers, no. 21 (July 2001), http://www.ceip.org/files/pdf/21KalathilBoas.pdf (accessed April 15, 2002); Geoffrey Taubman, "A Not-So World Wide Web: The Internet, China and the Challenges to Non-Democratic Rule," Political Communications 15 (1998). For discussions of the relationship of information technologies and democracy, see Christopher R. Kedzie, Communication and Democracy: Coincident Revolution and the Emergent Dictator's Dilemma (Santa Monica, Calif: RAND, 1997); Pippa Norris, Digital Divide: Civic Engagement, Information Poverty and the Internet in Democratic Societies (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001).
5. See, for example, Shanthi Kalathil and Taylor Boas, "The Internet and State Control in Authoritarian Regimes: China, Cuba, and the Counterrevolution," Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Information Revolution and World Politics Project Working Papers, no. 21 (July 2001), http://www.ceip.org/files/pdf/21KalathilBoas.pdf (accessed April 15, 2002); Geoffrey Taubman, "A Not-So World Wide Web: The Internet, China and the Challenges to Non-Democratic Rule," Political Communications 15 (1998). For discussions of the relationship of information technologies and democracy, see Christopher R. Kedzie, Communication and Democracy: Coincident Revolution and the Emergent Dictator's Dilemma (Santa Monica, Calif: RAND, 1997); Pippa Norris, Digital Divide: Civic Engagement, Information Poverty and the Internet in Democratic Societies (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001).
6. Joseph Nye, when referring to international power, cites "soft power" and "hard power." See, for example, Joseph S. Nye and William A. Owens, "America's Information Edge," Foreign Affairs (March/April 1996): 20-36. See also Michael Mann, The Sources of Social Power (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1986); Daniel C. Lynch, After the Propaganda State (Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1999). This binary division is a simplification, of course, and omits important cultural and historical dynamics of societal governance.
7. Joseph Nye, when referring to international power, cites "soft power" and "hard power." See, for example, Joseph S. Nye and William A. Owens, "America's Information Edge," Foreign Affairs (March/April 1996): 20-36. See also Michael Mann, The Sources of Social Power (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1986); Daniel C. Lynch, After the Propaganda State (Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1999). This binary division is a simplification, of course, and omits important cultural and historical dynamics of societal governance.
8. Joseph Nye, when referring to international power, cites "soft power" and "hard power." See, for example, Joseph S. Nye and William A. Owens, "America's Information Edge," Foreign Affairs (March/April 1996): 20-36. See also Michael Mann, The Sources of Social Power (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1986); Daniel C. Lynch, After the Propaganda State (Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1999). This binary division is a simplification, of course, and omits important cultural and historical dynamics of societal governance.
9. Lynch, After the Propaganda State; see also Viktor Mayer-Schoenberger and Gernot Brodnig, "Information Power: International Affairs in the Cyber Age," Kennedy School Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP01-044 (November 2001), http:// papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id = 292949 (accessed April 10, 2002).
10. Lynch, After the Propaganda State; see also Viktor Mayer-Schoenberger and Gernot Brodnig, "Information Power: International Affairs in the Cyber Age," Kennedy School Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP01-044 (November 2001), http:// papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id = 292949 (accessed April 10, 2002).
11. Lawrence Lessig argues that commercial pressures will eventually make the Internet a less anonymous environment less hospitable to dissident forces. Lawrence Lessig, Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace (New York: Basic Books, 1999).
12. Taylor Boas, "The Dictator's Dilemma? The Internet and U.S. Policy toward Cuba," The Washington Quarterly 23, no. 3 (summer 2000): 57-67.
13. "North Korea Online This Year," Korea Times, February 15, 2001; Ho-chul Lee, "North Korea's Information Technology Revolution" in The Korean Peninsula in the 21st Century: Prospects for Stability and Cooperation (Washington, D.C.: Korean Economic Institute, 2000), pp. 25-60 (symposium volume).
14. "North Korea Online This Year," Korea Times, February 15, 2001; Ho-chul Lee, "North Korea's Information Technology Revolution" in The Korean Peninsula in the 21st Century: Prospects for Stability and Cooperation (Washington, D.C.: Korean Economic Institute, 2000), pp. 25-60 (symposium volume).
15. U.S. Department of State, "Korea, Democratic People's Republic of," Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2001, http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/ eap/8330.htm (accessed April 11, 2002). Some observers report that foreign businesses may soon have satellite access to the Internet. See Tim Beal, "Information and Communications Technologies in the Two Koreas: Contrasts, Commonalities, Challenges" (paper presented at the fourteenth International Conference, New Zealand Asian Studies Society, University of Canterbury, November 28-December 1, 2002), p. 10.
16. U.S. Department of State, "Korea, Democratic People's Republic of," Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2001, http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/ eap/8330.htm (accessed April 11, 2002). Some observers report that foreign businesses may soon have satellite access to the Internet. See Tim Beal, "Information and Communications Technologies in the Two Koreas: Contrasts, Commonalities, Challenges" (paper presented at the fourteenth International Conference, New Zealand Asian Studies Society, University of Canterbury, November 28-December 1, 2002), p. 10.
17. Sandy Barron, "Burmese Junta Uses Net to Increase Power," Irish Times, February 7, 2000; "Myanmar Issues Tough Restrictions Even Before It Allows the Internet," Associated Press, January 21, 2000.
18. Sandy Barron, "Burmese Junta Uses Net to Increase Power," Irish Times, February 7, 2000; "Myanmar Issues Tough Restrictions Even Before It Allows the Internet," Associated Press, January 21, 2000.
19. "DPRK Set on World's Top in IT," PK Report from Pyongyang, no. 161 (May 2001), http://www.korea-np.co.jp/pk/161st_issue/2001052702.htm (accessed April 12, 2002).
20. "An American in North Korea," Economist, October 28, 2000.
21. Barron, "Burmese Junta Uses Net to Increase Power."
22. Beal, "Information and Communications Technologies in the Two Koreas," p. 9. One of few restrictions on Internet content in South Korea is that surfers must receive permission from the Ministry of Unification before using any information on these sites publicly. For more on South Korean restrictions, see Leon Petrov, "North Korea in Cyberspace," December 30, 1999, http://north-korea.narod.ru/dprk_int.htm (accessed April 15, 2002).
23. Beal, "Information and Communications Technologies in the Two Koreas," p. 9. One of few restrictions on Internet content in South Korea is that surfers must receive permission from the Ministry of Unification before using any information on these sites publicly. For more on South Korean restrictions, see Leon Petrov, "North Korea in Cyberspace," December 30, 1999, http://north-korea.narod.ru/dprk_int.htm (accessed April 15, 2002).
24. Viola Krebs, "The Impact of the Internet on Burma," First Monday 6, no. 5 (May 2001), http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue6_5/krebs/index.html (accessed April 15, 2002).
25. Barron, "Burmese Junta Uses Net to Increase Power."
26. "Myanmar Issues Tough Restrictions Even Before It Allows the Internet."
27. Much of the information in this section is based on interviews conducted in China in the spring of 2000 and 2001. See also Nina Hachigian, "China's Cyber-Strategy," Foreign Affairs 80, no. 2 (March/April 2001): 118-133, http://www.rand.org/nsrd/ capp/cyberstrategy.html (accessed April 15, 2002). Informative articles about China's approach to the Internet are Khalathil and Boas, "The Internet and State Control in Authoritarian Regimes"; Katherine Hartford, "Cyberspace with Chinese Characteristics," Current History (September 2000); Eric Harwitt and Duncan Clark, "Shaping the Internet in China," Asian Survey XLI, no. 3 (May-June 2000): 377-408.
28. Much of the information in this section is based on interviews conducted in China in the spring of 2000 and 2001. See also Nina Hachigian, "China's Cyber-Strategy," Foreign Affairs 80, no. 2 (March/April 2001): 118-133, http://www.rand.org/nsrd/ capp/cyberstrategy.html (accessed April 15, 2002). Informative articles about China's approach to the Internet are Khalathil and Boas, "The Internet and State Control in Authoritarian Regimes"; Katherine Hartford, "Cyberspace with Chinese Characteristics," Current History (September 2000); Eric Harwitt and Duncan Clark, "Shaping the Internet in China," Asian Survey XLI, no. 3 (May-June 2000): 377-408.
29. Much of the information in this section is based on interviews conducted in China in the spring of 2000 and 2001. See also Nina Hachigian, "China's Cyber-Strategy," Foreign Affairs 80, no. 2 (March/April 2001): 118-133, http://www.rand.org/nsrd/ capp/cyberstrategy.html (accessed April 15, 2002). Informative articles about China's approach to the Internet are Khalathil and Boas, "The Internet and State Control in Authoritarian Regimes"; Katherine Hartford, "Cyberspace with Chinese Characteristics," Current History (September 2000); Eric Harwitt and Duncan Clark, "Shaping the Internet in China," Asian Survey XLI, no. 3 (May-June 2000): 377-408.
30. Much of the information in this section is based on interviews conducted in China in the spring of 2000 and 2001. See also Nina Hachigian, "China's Cyber-Strategy," Foreign Affairs 80, no. 2 (March/April 2001): 118-133, http://www.rand.org/nsrd/ capp/cyberstrategy.html (accessed April 15, 2002). Informative articles about China's approach to the Internet are Khalathil and Boas, "The Internet and State Control in Authoritarian Regimes"; Katherine Hartford, "Cyberspace with Chinese Characteristics," Current History (September 2000); Eric Harwitt and Duncan Clark, "Shaping the Internet in China," Asian Survey XLI, no. 3 (May-June 2000): 377-408.
31. Ken Grant and Peter Lovelock, "MFC Internet Update," March 8, 2001.
32. Hoang-Giang Dang, "Internet in Vietnam: From a Laborious Birth into an Uncertain Future," Informatik Forum (January 1999), http://www.interasia.org/vietnam/ dang-hoang-giang.html (accessed April 12, 2001).
33. Ken Grant and Peter Lovelock, "MFC Internet Update," February 22, 2001. China's central government is also using the Internet's infrastructure to "strengthen its ability to exercise administrative control" and in theory allow it to control the economic growth that the Internet and an open economy will generate. Among some 13 "Golden Projects" designed for this purpose, "Golden Tax," for example, is intended to make hundreds of local tax bureaus more accountable by connecting them to the State Administration of Taxation. See Simon Cartledge and Peter Lovelock, "Special Subject: E-China," China Economic Quarterly 3, no. 1 (1999): 19-35.
34. Ken Grant and Peter Lovelock, "MFC Internet Update," February 22, 2001. China's central government is also using the Internet's infrastructure to "strengthen its ability to exercise administrative control" and in theory allow it to control the economic growth that the Internet and an open economy will generate. Among some 13 "Golden Projects" designed for this purpose, "Golden Tax," for example, is intended to make hundreds of local tax bureaus more accountable by connecting them to the State Administration of Taxation. See Simon Cartledge and Peter Lovelock, "Special Subject: E-China," China Economic Quarterly 3, no. 1 (1999): 19-35.
35. James Mulvenon and Michael Chase, You've Got Dissent (Santa Monica, Calif.: RAND, 2002) (forthcoming).
36. Liang Guo and Wei Bu, Hulianwang Shiyong Zhuangkuang Ji Yingxiang De Diaocha Baogao (Survey on Internet Usage and Impact) (Beijing: Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, April 2001). A Chinese version is available at http://www.chinace.org/ce/ itre/ (accessed April 15, 2002).
37. For more information on the history of the Internet in Singapore, see Waipeng Lee, "Singapore," in Internet in Asia (Singapore: Asian Media Information and Communication Centre, 2001). See also Gary Rodan, "The Internet and Political Control in Singapore," Political Science Quarterly 113, no. 1 (1998).
38. For more information on the history of the Internet in Singapore, see Waipeng Lee, "Singapore," in Internet in Asia (Singapore: Asian Media Information and Communication Centre, 2001). See also Gary Rodan, "The Internet and Political Control in Singapore," Political Science Quarterly 113, no. 1 (1998).
39. Http://www.sba.gov.sg (accessed April 15, 2002).
40. Mark Warschauer, "Singapore's Dilemma: Control vs. Autonomy in IT-Led Development," Information Society, http://www.gse.uci.edu/markw/singapore.html (accessed April 12, 2002).
41. Http://www.sba.gov.sg/internet.htm (accessed September 9, 2001).
42. Alfred L. Oehlers, "The Internet and Political Change: Some Thoughts on Singapore" (paper presented at the Internet Political Economy Forum, "Internet and Development in Asia," Singapore, September 14-15, 2001). Sintercom, a popular nonprofit, uncensored, online forum, closed in part because the editor was dismayed at broad content regulations that left him vulnerable to government prosecution. How Tan Tarn, "Sintercom Founder Fades Out of Cyberspace," Straits Times (Singapore), August 22, 2001.
43. Alfred L. Oehlers, "The Internet and Political Change: Some Thoughts on Singapore" (paper presented at the Internet Political Economy Forum, "Internet and Development in Asia," Singapore, September 14-15, 2001). Sintercom, a popular nonprofit, uncensored, online forum, closed in part because the editor was dismayed at broad content regulations that left him vulnerable to government prosecution. How Tan Tarn, "Sintercom Founder Fades Out of Cyberspace," Straits Times (Singapore), August 22, 2001.
44. Oehlers, "The Internet and Political Change."
45. "No Laughing Matter," Economist, May 26, 2001.
46. James Chin, "Malaysiakini and Its Impact on Journalism and Politics in Malaysia" (paper presented at the Internet Political Economy Forum, "Internet and Development in Asia," Singapore, September 14-15, 2001).
47. "Several Asian Countries Clamp Down on Net," SiliconValley.com, http:// www.siliconvalley.com/cgi-bin (accessed August 15, 2001).
48. "High-Tech Slump Threat to Malaysian Press Freedom," Agence France Press, June 3, 2001.
49. For more on this thesis, see Hachigian, "China's Cyber-Strategy."