Radical democracy and the Internet

de Lincoln Dahlberg, Eugenia Siapera

Radical Democracy and the Internet provides a systematic and mutual interrogation of radical democratic theory and Internet practice. Contributors critically examine a range of radical democratic theories in relation to online communication, from deliberative to agonistic to autonomist Marxist, and explore how such communication may be advancing democracy beyond what is conceptualized and practised within present liberal-capitalist political contexts. The communicative practices explored include the deployment of the Internet in relation to the anti-globalization movement, feminist politics, post-colonialism, multiculturalism, citizenship, the public sphere, hacktivism, and peer-to-peer social networking. As such, Radical Democracy and the Internet provides much needed critical reflection on radical democratic theory in relation to the Internet and on viable alternatives to consumer-oriented online politics. The book is an important contribution to both democratic theory and new media studies, and essential reading in politics, media studies, communications, and sociology.