Beyond the Internet

Beyond the Internet examines the technological dimension of the recent wave of protest movements in United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Ireland. Offering an opportunity to achieve a better understanding of the dynamics between society, politics and technology, this volume questions the essentialist attributes of the Internet that fuel the techno-centric discourse. The contributors illustrate how the Internet has helped empower these protest movements and link them all together however the internet has not had the power to overcome the extranet inequalities and democratic deficits that each country faced on its own terms. The realm of politics is undoubtedly changing, as citizens broaden their ideas of what political issues and participation mean. However, as the Internet offers vast new horizons, it does not necessarily change the way people think and act in regard to politics.