I’m a professor of political science at Valdosta State University in Georgia, USA. I have long had an interest in new technology and its implications for international relations and society. I have taught classes on international relations, global public policy, and international institutions. I have also published in these areas. Since the internet has been a disruptive force in both the national and international environments, I believe, as a political scientist, that it is vital to understand its effects on existing power relationships. I hope you find the books on my list enlightening.
I wrote
Controlling Cyberspace: The Politics of Internet Governance and Regulation
Laura Denardis, a renowned scholar in this field, authored this thoroughly researched, thought-provoking book. The author explores the dangers presented by the Internet of Things (IoT) as it permeates all aspects of our lives, from smartwatches to home appliances to medical devices to military drones.
The IoT continues to proliferate at a much faster rate than our regulations, laws, and oversight at both the national and international levels, presenting challenges to privacy, security, and individual rights.
I recommend this book because Denardis not only effectively outlines the threats presented by the IoT, but she also offers possible policy solutions that could be based on current technical internet governance infrastructure.
A compelling argument that the Internet of things threatens human rights and security
"Sobering and important."-Financial Times, "Best Books of 2020: Technology"
The Internet has leapt from human-facing display screens into the material objects all around us. In this so-called Internet of things-connecting everything from cars to cardiac monitors to home appliances-there is no longer a meaningful distinction between physical and virtual worlds. Everything is connected. The social and economic benefits are tremendous, but there is a downside: an outage in cyberspace can result not only in loss of communication but also potentially in loss of life.
I love this book because it describes how the internet works, as well as the fundamentals of its governance, in cartoon form.
Catnip the Cat helps readers understand complex topics in a non-technical way. What’s not to love about that? While this might sound frivolous, the authors have very solid credentials. I recommend this book because it is both highly informative and fun!
A Cat's Guide to Internet Freedom is a comic book-like introduction to the technical side of the internet, narrated by a cute cat character. The book contains playful illustrations and concise explanations detailing transport protocols and basic internet infrastructure as well as larger technological concepts like security and privacy, algorithms, and Internet infrastructure governance. Readers will gain enough technical understanding to become knowledgeable about digital privacy concerns that affect every internet user.
Social Security for Future Generations
by
John A. Turner,
This book provides new options for reform of the Social Security (OASI) program. Some options are inspired by the U.S. pension system, while others are inspired by the literature on financial literacy or the social security systems in other countries.
An example of our proposals inspired by the U.S. pension…
Although published more than a decade ago, the main message of this book remains as fresh as ever. We must all fight for our rights and build a “netizen-centric internet.”
I loved this book because McKinnon’s arguments are crystal clear, persuasive, and relevant. “Democracy will not be delivered, renewed, or upgraded automatically…The future of freedom in the Internet age depends on whether people can be bothered to take responsibility for the future and act.”
She highlights the repressive methods used by authoritarian regimes to control information but also warns of the dangers posed by government overreach in democracies, as well as unaccountable corporate power.
As corporations and countries square off for control of the Internet, the likely losers are us - unless we act to protect our freedoms. Facebook, Flickr, Research in Motion, Yahoo, Ericsson and Google: what do they have in common? They are technology companies that, while drawing the rhetoric of cyberutopianism, are nonetheless willing - even keen - to undermine the freedom of their users whenever it suits them. Many nations are no better: China, Russia, Iran and even the US spy on their citizens, crush free expression, and otherwise import all of government's worst habits into the digital frontier. In…
In today’s media environment of 24-hour news, clickbait, and social media, there is tremendous competition to grab our attention. Our attention and our data have become commodities that can be monetized and sold to the highest bidder.
I love this book because Wu places this struggle for our attention in a broader historical context, tracing its roots to a 19th-century newspaper owner who discovered that advertising revenue could bring in more profits than the price he charged for newspapers. This business model has been applied to radio, television, and now the internet, but the goals remain the same.
Wu is a consummate storyteller and provides numerous examples of how we are being manipulated for profit.
Attention merchant: an industrial-scale harvester of human attention. A firm whose business model is the mass capture of attention for resale to advertisers. In nearly every moment of our waking lives, we face a barrage of advertising enticements, branding efforts, sponsored social media, commercials and other efforts to harvest our attention. Over the last century, few times or spaces have remained uncultivated by the 'attention merchants', contributing to the distracted, unfocused tenor of our times. Tim Wu argues that this is not simply the byproduct of recent inventions but the end result of more than a century's growth and expansion…
Social Security for Future Generations
by
John A. Turner,
This book provides new options for reform of the Social Security (OASI) program. Some options are inspired by the U.S. pension system, while others are inspired by the literature on financial literacy or the social security systems in other countries.
An example of our proposals inspired by the U.S. pension…
This is a fascinating and insightful book about the next stage in the evolution of the Web. Whereas Web 1 was Read-Only, and Web 2 was Read-Write, which allowed for user content creation, Web 3 has the potential to become Read-Write-Own.
The author argues that we are at the beginning of a new era where blockchain can be used to give individuals more ownership and control over their information and allow them to trade their assets peer-to-peer, bypassing traditional intermediaries.
I loved this book because it makes a complex topic very accessible. I also liked the author’s optimistic take on Web 3’s potential for facilitating economic and cultural progress.
An essential introduction and guide to navigating the next Internet revolution—everything from the metaverse and NFTs to DAOs, decentralized finance, and self-sovereign identity—from the co-author of the international bestseller Blockchain Revolution.
The Web, and with it the Internet, are entering a new age. We’ve moved from the “Read-only Web,” which had little functionality for interacting with content, to the “Read-Write Web,” which offered seemingly endless collaborative opportunities, from sharing with our favorite people to shopping at our favorite brands. But the profusion of cyberattacks, data hacks, and online profiling have left many of us to view digital life as a Faustian…
My book covers a broad range of issues related to internet governance, including a history of the internet governance ecosystem and an examination of the roles played by the United Nations and other transnational organizations. I contend that the current decentralized multistakeholder system of governance is being seriously threatened by those who seek to shift authority to international organizations controlled by governments.
These political battles have far-reaching implications for who will ultimately control the internet and how it will evolve. The book also analyzes the shifting nature of internet governance in relation to controversial and significant policy debates in both national and international spheres, including freedom of expression, privacy, security, the digital divide, human rights, and corporate rights.
