It is easy to see that the internet has had a profound effect on many areas of our lives. Despite this the study of the effects of technology upon our daily lives tends to be fragmented and therefore ultimately incomplete. This means that anyone attempting to come to grips with the major changes caused by technology is required to bring together literature from several disciplines (law, computer ethics, sociology, media studies, etc.) to be able to obtain a fairly clear picture of the complexity of internet supported social interaction. To anyone interested in internet studies this fragmentation is an accepted reality but to the teacher this fragmentation is a source of frustration. In part this fragmentation is the result of the approach, scope and goals of the different disciplines attempting to research of the social effects of internet‐based technologies.
Andrew Chadwick is familiar with these problems since he has been a part of this research tradition over a longer period of time. His way of attempting to overcome this complexity is not to write a traditional book on e‐government or e‐democracy as might be expected but he elegantly avoids this trap by titling his new book Internet Politics (2006). This choice of title allows him the leeway to explore the many aspects of this field without being trapped in the usual reader expectations. He acknowledges this in the final chapter of the book when he writes: “Internet politics is a fast moving field characterized by uncertainty, paradox, overstatement and understatement.”
When Chadwick recognizes that Internet Politics is a complex subject he does not do so as an excuse for omissions or simplifications. His book acknowledges the complexities and explores them with an in‐depth use of theory and illuminating examples. He mixes the fundamental descriptions of how the internet functions both technologically, socially and organisationally with the innovative additions of the way in which individuals and groups use the internet. In the latter approach lies the recognition that it is not the technological or the organisational which makes the internet a topic of fascinating research but it is the social uses of technology which have created the innovative and fundamental changes in both on and offline behaviour. Technological advances alone have not created the social changes we are experiencing today.
Recognising this Chadwick address the typical subjects of the access, the digital divide, internet governance (to name a few topics) but he is not satisfied with this, more formal, explanation of internet technology. In order to bring the breadth of this subject to the attention of the reader he explores the social fringes of internet use as a public sphere (including a good section on Habermas' theories in relation to the internet) with topics such as interest groups and social movements, and the effects of blogging, social production of content and hacktivism (to name a few topics).
In the typical literature, the latter topics are only mentioned in passing. This enhances their status as unimportant fringe occurrences rather than large‐scale political and social movements. The lack of appreciation for these topics maintains the illusion that the internet is just another place similar, yet dissimilar to the offline world. And this place can and will be understood and controlled as soon as the adequate regulatory bodies are agreed upon and created by existing formally approved regulatory structures. Such a view is insufficient in understanding the internet, as it does not take into consideration the power of activism and social interaction online.
This book is well researched, timely and readable – but who are its intended audience? By looking at its structure with its helpful chapter overviews, summaries and suggestions for recommended reading it may seem, at first glance, that this is a book for students. And it is. However, the wealth of references within the text and the generous bibliography show that Chadwick is not content with creating a work for students. This book is an invaluable aid to the researcher. A novice will find it enlightening and to the more seasoned researcher it is both a useful refresher and a point of reference.
As a teacher this book manages to impress both in its scope and its depth, it is an excellent fundamental text that will replace many of the existing works on e‐government and e‐democracy since it manages to encompass both topics and beyond. As a researcher familiar with the field it is full of reminders and additional information. But it leaves the advanced researcher wanting more. Chadwick has opened up the field of Internet Politics and immediately the researcher within demands to know his thoughts on the current stages of social networks. What are the political implications of the likes of Flickr, Second Life and Myspace? Where is wikipedia going? Should blogs be studied as a unified topic (because of their technological kinship) or do we need a more nuanced approach?
Questions such as these keep popping up while reading Chadwick. The advanced reader wants instant gratification and more answers. In the internet age, it is frustrating to have to wait for a second edition. However, it is the mark of a good book that the reader closes its covers and is already anticipating a continuation of the discourse on Internet Politics. In conclusion therefore, Internet Politics should be required reading for anyone attempting to understanding the way in which the internet affects our lives.
