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US power and the Internet in international relations : the irony of the information age
Carr M., Palgrave Macmillan, New York, NY, 2016. 221 pp. Type: Book (978-1-137550-23-1)
Date Reviewed: Oct 19 2016

As the title points out, the author emphasizes throughout the book how the power of the Internet is useful in international relations and how the US wants to shape that growth. This book traces the history of the evolution of the Internet and how it is closely tied to a US government plan to dominate the governance of the Internet.

The book is divided into seven chapters. In the first chapter, it appears that the author was focusing on some nontechnical aspects of the creation of the Internet, and the discussion centers on a public policy perspective. Later, the book focuses mostly on the various segments of the US government and how they have tried to shape Internet governance. As one who was very familiar with those activities when they occurred, I was able to fully understand what the author was emphasizing. This author from a British university refers to a BBC global survey regarding the Internet and how this technology is viewed as a basic human right. I found the material well balanced on the coverage of technology and the policy decisions of the various segments of the US government.

The main chapters of the book deal with international relations, a select history of the Internet, cyber security, Internet governance, and network neutrality. On network neutrality, the author simply points out the various points of view raised by different constituencies in the US. There is not much discussion of how the rest of the world views network neutrality. The author has provided additional details that the interested reader could pursue in the form of chapter notes at the end of the book. The book also has an index that is useful to locate the various topics discussed. I noted that one particular term was used extensively first and then it was amplified much later. It is SCOT (social construction of technology).

The author explains the transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP) technology as the foundation for the modern Internet, how security was not the focus of Internet initially, and why it is needed today. In discussing the TCP/IP model, the author points out that the Internet was designed as a spider web model instead of a hub-and-spokes model like the telephone system, which is vulnerable to a central system attack. There is extensive discussion on the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and why the US government has insisted on having control over ICANN as the authority to control the governance of the Internet. There is a brief discussion on supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems that are quite prevalent for access over the Internet today. There is a very brief mention of the Snowden leaks, but not much discussion on this topic.

Overall, the book is a good attempt to show the power of the Internet in international relations. For readers not familiar with the way the US is governed, this will be a good introduction to see the various checks and balances the system places on governance. This is a good addition to the literature, which also includes Bollier’s report [1].

Reviewer:  S. Srinivasan Review #: CR144856 (1701-0042)
1) Bollier, D. The rise of netpolitik: how the Internet is changing international politics and diplomacy. Aspen Institute, Washington, DC, 2003.
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