Preface: International Relationships in the Information Age

Abstract

Communication technologies have repeatedly impacted a broad range of human relationships in ways great and small. Nowhere has this been more the case within the past decade than in relationships between governments and the governed. Social media has arguably transformed the potential for individual citizens to organize for political action; information and communication technologies have empowered private citizens to challenge official monopolies on “the truth,” even as they allow governments to reach out in new ways to broader audiences than ever before. The possibilities for mobilizing social forces and affecting governance within and across nations have never before seemed as significant as they do in the modern Global Information Age. And yet it is an age that presents possibilities as well as risks. Pro-social as well as anti-social actors and organizations have learned to use digital media for their respective purposes. We sense the possibilities of opposing official repression that decentralized communication affords, but we are also well aware that governments around the world are adept at harnessing these technologies to harass political opponents, to undermine foreign adversaries, and to misinform unwary consumers. Moreover, the consequences of unleashing new social forces are hard to predict. Facts, meanings, and identities are potentially up for grabs, and the consequences for governance locally and internationally are complex and only beginning to unfold. Many of these issues were explored at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the ISA, the theme of which was “Power, Principles and Participation in the Global Information Age.” Chosen prior to the events giving rise to the Arab Spring of 2011, this call for papers turned out to be one of the more timely themes in recent years. The 2011 meeting spotlighted the changing influence of information technologies on international affairs and the way we as researchers pursue our research.