The title of this book is provocative, and so is the premise examined in it: that modern information technology (IT), and the evolving global information infrastructure based on the Internet, are destabilizing, and also democratizing, technologies. One of the suggested effects, not widely addressed in the broader debate on the topic, is that the Internet provides a way to use underdeveloped talent in developing nations. Rapid growth of IT in countries such as India and China is evidence of this possibility. With a considerable breadth of perspective, this book investigates three areas of information technology, in short case studies. For the most part, “Internet” is used as a surrogate for IT, and the subject is approached from the social sciences perspective, which, inevitably, ignores many dimensions of information technology, and its indispensable role in global culture, commerce, economics, and politics.

The contributing authors in the first part of the book suggest that the use of the Internet for political purposes--by Native American groups in the United States, Basque separatists in Spain, Kurdish minorities in Turkey and Iran, and the Zapatista movement in Mexico--demonstrates only mixed results. The low level of Internet usage in less developed countries, due to inadequate telecommunications infrastructure, and the high cost of connectivity, is not only making the realization of the dream of the “global village” difficult, but also creates a real digital divide. It is also making it difficult for groups to communicate with their own constituencies effectively through the Internet. Analysis of patterns of Internet usage in the United States suggests that high utilization of the Internet does not necessarily foster understanding between diverse groups in society. With 80 percent of the information content on the Internet in English, the Internet seems to be diminishing cultural diversity in the world, although translation systems are now evolving that will mitigate this effect. The shortage of bandwidth is an impediment to the growth of telecommunications infrastructure in some countries, but satellites can be effective tools for addressing this shortcoming, despite security vulnerabilities of which other nations should be mindful.

Four chapters in the second section of the book address the influence of information technology on freedom in civil societies. The case study of the overthrow of the authoritarian Fujimori regime in Peru, in the 1990s, demonstrates that the Internet, despite its limited penetration in the Peruvian society, had a significant effect on this process. The chapter on this topic, however, concentrates more on describing the political process, instead of presenting a thoughtful analysis of the usage patterns of the Internet in the crisis. Similar observations can be made about developments in Cambodia, Congo, and the Philippines. The effect of the Internet on the democratization of China, due to highly restrictive regulations, has been very limited. The use of the Internet in Iranian politics suggests that both sides, reformers and conservatives, are using the Net very effectively to advance their respective political agendas.

The third part of the book, “The Internet and Economic Development,” contains three short case studies. One addresses India’s information technology scene, and concludes that, despite the success of IT centers such as Bangalore, the needs of traditional economic development in India cannot be ignored. The case study of Brazil proves that the relatively advanced IT industry, and extensive use of the Internet in the country, has not created the problem of a brain drain of talent to the United States. The case study of Africa, with limited analysis, and insufficient detail on IT or the Internet, argues that the US should pay more attention to this region for its strategic interests. It was difficult to see how these three issues were interrelated, or very important in the larger debate on economic development in the third world.

Admittedly, a great deal of information contained in the case studies in this book is based on interviews, email exchanges, and suggestive data, gathered to answer profound questions on technology trends in the world; this makes some of the evidence anecdotal. Many other statistics cited in the book have already become obsolete in the past two years, due to the breathtaking speed of advances taking place in global information technology. In reading the book, it is difficult to escape the feeling that, when so many issues of global importance are addressed in a limited space of 180 pages, only impressionistic treatment of issues is possible.