Book Description

Asian Cyberactivism: Freedom of Expression and Media Censorship aims to record political activism on the Internet and "take stock of some of the successes and failures of cyberactivists as they try to beat the various censorship regimes in Asia." The sections of this 664-page book comprise of 'Political Frameworks & New Technology', 'Regulations and Control', 'One Party States', 'Alternative Media', 'Civil Society', 'Diaspora Communities', and 'Political Parties'. The book's 18 chapters provide an overview of current trends in democracy related new media research to country-specific case studies. "The common thread running through the book is the organizing of civil society groups at the grassroots level, and how they are influencing certain segments of their respective countries, and even challenging state control and the monopoly of mainstream media." Asian Cyberactivism strives to examine political organising online in Asia even as the technology and the rules change. Activists provide their perspectives on how new media relates to democracy, and showcase examples that could be emulated to further the cause of democracy. "Expressions of free speech have blossomed with the advent of new communications technologies like the Internet, but with the Internet itself becoming a target for censorship, regulation and control, it remains to be seen if cyberactivists in Asia will be able to overcome or bypass them."