The Role of Cyber Activism in Disambiguating the Cosmopolis and Discourse of Democratization

Abstract

Democracy and democratization have become universal norms and organizing principles that validate various forms of world governance and statehood. In particular in emerging and dependent economies, the policies and programs behind development aid have expanded their jurisdiction to include democracy, human rights, and good governance, along with policies of global neoliberalism. Notwithstanding the holding of regular elections, there is a need to keep identifying specific reasons why most emerging economies have witnessed little or no significant improvement in democracy, human rights, or good governance. This chapter focuses on the ambiguity reflected in the discourse of global public diplomacy deployed by purveyors of democracy and contestants of world influence, who double as Cold War warriors and democracy promoters. Discourse has become a creative and mutating technique used to co-opt not only the language of what used to be dissenters of global neoliberalism, but also international non-governmental organizations regarded as symbols of independent global civil society. The chapter proposes cyber communications as alternative tools for a new form of global civil society and citizens’ media that can promote genuine grassroots initiatives and disambiguate the discourse of the cosmopolitics of democratization through cyber activism and education.

Jean-Claude Kwitonda’s research interests include global neoliberalism, especially its various meanings. In this chapter he proposes cyber communications as alternative tools for a new form of global civil society and citizens’ media.