Are political boundaries becoming less relevant?
The Internet continues a long-term trend of bringing the world closer together. But if anything the Internet has highlighted the importance of national boundaries. These boundaries roughly mark off different peoples with different languages, tastes, cultures and expectations. Far from flattening the world, the Internet—its language, its content, its norms—is conforming to local conditions. The result is an Internet that differs dramatically among nations and regions. This bordered Internet reflects both top-down and bottom-up pressures. Top-down pressures come from governments that are successfully imposing national laws on the Internet within their borders. Bottom-up pressures come from individuals in different places who demand an Internet that corresponds to local preferences, and the Web page operators and other content providers who shape the Internet experience to satisfy these demands. The result is an Internet that looks and feels and is very different depending on whether you
Related Questions
- Are there any technological, economic, political, administrative, social and/or environmental constraints that are relevant to the problem?
- Can we not seek legitimacy by forming a POLITICAL PARTY CUTTING ACROSS NATIONAL BOUNDARIES?
- Why is the principle of least eligibility relevant in todays political environment?
