The Power of the Internet

Well, it appears as though the United Nations may finally be getting its act together.  In a world that is supposedly defined by its shift toward idealism (the belief that the sovereignty of individual states is declining and the prominence of intergovernmental organizations is rising), the U.N. has been woefully slow in its action regarding Syria.  Now, all the blame cannot be put squarely on the U.N., it is safe to say that China and Russia hold a large portion of the blame because of their veto of the cease-fire that was proposed a long time ago.  Nonetheless, U.N. observers are heading to Syria this week to monitor a cease-fire agreement that has been reached between the government and the rebels.  But, there is one problem with the agreement.  The problem is that the government continues to fire on its citizens.  As a cease-fire agreement would suggest, firing is supposed to cease.  However, the Syrian government has not ceased.  They continue to massacre their citizens and the end doesn't seem to be in sight.  In all honesty, I think the U.N. observers are in for a rude awakening.  Despite my rant about the lack of U.N. progress, the real point of this article has to do with the internet.

Much is always made about how the internet impacts voting in the United States.  Internet voting, internet campaigning, and the like have been studied to determine how these new found ways of voting and campaigning increase voter participation.  However, the role of the internet in foreign countries, and especially in revolts such as the one in Syria, cannot be overstated.  The internet basically started the Arab Spring movement.  Because of the medium protestors had in the internet, they were able to get their ideas out to a watching world.  Further, in Syria, because the government has severely restricted journalists from entering the country, one of our only windows into the violence has been through Syrian citizens and their willingness to defy the government and post about the conflict on the internet.  Syrians have been killed because of their desire to make their cause known to the world.  The internet, and social media sites in particular, have given these long oppressed people a voice.  These people see the internet as their window to freedom; their way to show the world the struggles they have faced for decades.

The role the internet has played in these crises and revolts has been remarkable.  While we in the United States study the impact the internet has on voting and the like, these people in other countries are using it as a lifeline.  What to us is an everyday luxury, to these oppressed people is a life ring that is saving them from drowning in oppression.  While the response of the United Nations to the needs of these citizens being killed has been shameful to say the least, at least we are staring to act.  Without the internet, we may never have known the severity of the situation in Syria.  We may never have known the plight of these citizens, who are being killed by their own government.  We may never have known of the hostility of these brutal Middle Eastern dictators.  Our everyday tool for augmenting voter turnout and modernizing campaigns is the last hope of the Syrians.  It is important for us to remember that while we sit on Facebook and gossip about our friends, people in other parts of the world are logging onto Facebook to try to save their own lives.

Article on Syria.