This Week at ISN

20 - 24 February 2012 The internet has become an integral part of many people's lives and has undoubtedly changed the way we interact with each other. But has it also affected the way the international system works? Can the internet undermine the state, when it's the state that ultimately controls its access?

The New Information Revolution

Wresting Power from the Few?
20 Feb 2012 / ISN Special Feature

Does the internet enhance or detract from state power, especially when you consider that it's the state that ultimately controls access to the internet? In turn, does social media politicize the once apolitical into new clusters of power? More From Dictatorship to Democracy 2.0
21 Feb 2012 / ISN Feature

In this article we examine Gene Sharp's legendary handbook of non-violent resistance "From Dictatorship to Democracy" in the context of the new information revolution. More Watching Over You
22 Feb 2012 / ISN Special Feature

Allowing citizens access to the internet without 'compromising' the regime it's a balancing act that some states are finding difficult to achieve and others have no intention of fulfilling. This article shows the countries where you need to take heed of what you do online. More Crowdsourcing for Change?
23 Feb 2012 / ISN Podcast

In this podcast, Ushahidi's Heather Leson discusses her organization's use of crisis mapping techniques and outlines how non-state actors are increasingly collaborating online to tackle issues traditionally managed by governments. More China, Corporations and Internet Censorship
24 Feb 2012 / ISN Feature

The Chinese government has developed sophisticated methods to monitor and repress the social media activities of its 'netizens'. Internet censorship in China also reflects the tangled relationship Beijing presently has with Western internet companies. More Twitter: A Scientific Treasure Trove
24 Feb 2012 / ISN Blog

The internet and the web have changed the way we do business, learn, communicate, live and even think a development apparent to many people. What is not so well known is that the internet has also started to change the scientific landscape in various arguably profound respects, writes Ren Pfitzner. More

Other Topics
The Iran Conflict Comes to the Caucasus
20 Feb 2012 / ISN Insights

When police in Tbilisi discovered and defused a bomb in the car of an employee of the Israeli Embassy on February 13, it marked the second time in less than a month that the Israel's diplomats had become the target of an attack in the South Caucasus, writes Brian Whitmore. More Social Democracy and Europe's Crisis
23 Feb 2012 / ISN Insights

Elections in France in 2012, Germany in 2013, the European elections of 2014 and ongoing negotiations about the reform of the EU's financial framework for the 2014-2020 period are all opportunities. Whether socialists and social democrats will take advantage of them remains to be seen, writes Dionyssis Dimitrakopoulos. More Syrian Youth Against Tyranny
23 Feb 2012 / ISN Insights

In the uprisings that started in Tunisia, spread through the Middle East and North Africa and reached Western countries such as the US and Spain, young citizens have played a key role by questioning the systems inherited from the previous generations and demanding new forms of representation, writes Leila Nachawati. More Forgetting What?
23 Feb 2012 / ISN Blog

Flagging forgotten crises is important, because it puts pressure on governments and other donors to provide humanitarian aid on the basis of need alone. But the concept is toothless unless it builds on transparent and explicit indicators, writes Andras Horvath. More Israel Wants the Dowry But Not the Bride
20 Feb 2012 / ISN Blog

Voices critical of Israel's role in the Middle East sometimes argue that its occupation of the Territories is imperialist in nature. To complement our discussion of 'Economics, Politics and War' last week, Chantal Chastonay examines some aspects of the political economy of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through a Marxist lens. More What Kind of Geo-Economic Europe?
22 Feb 2012 / ISN Blog

At the end of each year our partners at FRIDE reflect on the challenges that are likely to shape the European Union's (EU) foreign policy agenda over the next twelve months. As the most recent bailout package for the floundering Greek economy demonstrates, the unifying thread of these challenges is that of geo-economics, writes Adam Dempsey. More Drones for the ICC and Drones for Human Rights?
21 Feb 2012 / ISN Blog

The use of drones to assassinate alleged terrorists in the Global War on Terror has sparked a heated debate on the ethics and legality of the extra-judicial killing of individuals by un-manned aircraft. In this blog, Mark Kersten elaborates on whether drones can play a major role in highlighting and responding to human rights violations. More

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