By Michael Allen on February 10, 2009
The news that a pro-Palestinian blogger has been kidnapped by security forces has drawn attention to the role of bloggers in Egypt’s protest movement. Recent cases involving pro-Hamas activists also highlight the fact that not all of the country’s bloggers are well-meaning digital democrats.
Young Egyptian activists are using Facebook and similar social networking technologies to [read full story]
Posted in Blogs, Egypt, Labour/labor unions, democracy promotion, promoting democracy, protests | Tagged Blogs, democracy promotion, Egypt, Labour/labor unions, promoting democracy, protests |
By Michael Allen on February 2, 2009
China’s communist authorities’ harassment of signatories of Charter 08, the democratic dissidents’ manifesto, reflects an anxiety that the economic crisis will “spur calls for swifter political reform and challenge its monopoly on power.”
“Many people in the west think China is afraid of elections and democracy,” charges Premier Wen Jiabao, currently on a European charm offensive, [read full story]
Posted in Blogs, China, Tools/technology, authoritarianism, corruption, economic crisis | Tagged authoritarianism, Blogs, china, corruption, economic crisis, Tools/technology |
By Michael Allen on January 26, 2009
With a majority of the world’s population denied access to free media, the new U.S. administration should ensure that independent media is no longer the poor relation of international development. So argues Marguerite H. Sullivan, senior director of the Center for International Media Assistance. Less than 20 per cent of people enjoy access to wholly [read full story]
Posted in Blogs, Democracy assistance, Global, Tools/technology, media | Tagged Blogs, independent media, obama, social networking |
By Michael Allen on August 1, 2008
Over a dozen Egyptian “Facebook activists” were arrested last week, as authorities continued to suppress a network resulting from a recent textile workers’ strike. Those detained included Ahmed Maher whose Facebook group that supported the strikers attracted some 60,000 people.
Egypt’s crackdown on Facebook activism reflects the authorities’ anxiety that protests have escalated over several months, [read full story]
Posted in Backlash, Blogs, Labour/labor unions, Middle East and North Africa, Regions, dissidents | Tagged Backlash, Blogs, dissidents, Egypt, Labour/labor unions, Middle East and North Africa |
By Michael Allen on July 24, 2008
Caption: Chinese Communist propaganda initiatives on the Web represent a shift from traditional censorship-based methods.
China’s ruling Communist Party is engaged in an extensive effort to police and influence the Internet using thousands of pro-government Web commentators. Up to 280,000 Party-backed monitors, otherwise known as the “red vests”, the “red vanguard” or the “Fifty Cent Party” [read full story]
Posted in Asia, Blogs, Regions, Tools/technology | Tagged Asia, authoritarianism, Blogs, Tools/technology |
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