Abstract
The institutional power of the Internet for US foreign policy cannot function in the absence of a supporting ideological construction which legitimizes a specific form of the technology. The norms and values of technological institutions must be continually reproduced (Sims and Henke 2012) — the momentum of a technological institution relies on precisely these forms of reproduction. Symbolic politics are central to this process (Althusser 2008 [1971]). This chapter and the following will outline how US government discourse attempts to secure an Internet with values that reflect its interest in the promotion of liberal capitalist democracy globally. We will see that US foreign policy officials use a variety of discursive strategies and construct a number of interrelated narratives to assert that the Internet must be a medium for the ‘free flow of information’. Drawing upon dominant norms in international society the US government asserts that the free flow of information guarantees the right to freedom of speech and promotes open democratic government. In the process, the US government casts alternative arrangements — those which would interrupt the free flow of information due to social, cultural, or political concerns — as illegitimate.
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
Please note this is an updated and revised version of McCarthy (2011a).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2015 Daniel R. McCarthy
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
McCarthy, D.R. (2015). Pursuing Technological Closure: Symbolic Politics, Legitimacy, and Internet Filtering. In: Power, Information Technology, and International Relations Theory. Palgrave Studies in International Relations. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137306906_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137306906_5
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-45525-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-30690-6
eBook Packages: Palgrave Intern. Relations & Development CollectionPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)