BOOK REVIEW on Open Networks, Closed Regimes by Shanthi Kalathil and Essay

BOOK REVIEW on Open Networks, Closed Regimes by Shanthi Kalathil and Taylor C. Boas - Essay Example They also examined Governmental use of the electronic medium, while economically, they examined Internet use by domestic entrepreneurs. Lastly, they also examine the impact of informational technology from the perspective of how the use of the worldwide web outside the borders of a particular country could impact upon the internal political stability of these countries. The authors have concluded that the impact of the Internet is ambiguous, because in some countries authoritarian regimes have actually been able to cement their position, while in others the Internet has not made much of a difference. As a result they found no evidence to support the contention that the Internet threatens authoritarian regimes. The central thesis of the book is clearly stated at the very outset, as follows: â€Å"There is now a widespread belief in the policy world that the Internet poses an insurmountable threat to authoritarian rule.† (Kalathil and Taylor, 3 ). The authors set out to examine the veracity of this assumption and state clearly that â€Å"we seek to critically examine the impact of the Internet in authoritarian regimes.† Thus, on this basis, the thesis is clearly laid out as being the answer to the question of whether the Internet indeed poses a threat to authoritarian regimes and promotes the forces of democratization. This is also the sub title of the book. In order to address the thesis, the authors have explored patterns and content of Internet use in six countries with authoritarian regimes. In examining the patterns of Internet use and the levels of control or blocking imposed by the States in question, the authors have arrived at the conclusion that the so called threat to authoritarian regimes posed by the Internet is ambiguous, because the extent of its effect is also dependent upon various social and political factors and players. In some instances, authoritarian regimes were actually able