Overview

"Can the internet fundamentally challenge non-free regimes? The role that social networking played in political change in the Middle East and beyond raises important questions about the ability of authoritarian leaders to control the information sphere and their subjects. Revolution Stalled goes beyond the idea of ""virtual "" politics to study five key components in the relationship between the online sphere and society: content, community, catalysts, control, and co-optation. This analysis of the contemporary Russian internet, written by a scholar with in-depth knowledge of both the post-Soviet media and media theory, illuminates how and when online activity can spark political action. This book argues that there are critical pre-conditions that help the internet to challenge non-free states. For example, Russian leaders became vulnerable to online protest movements and online social entrepreneurs when they failed to control the internet as effectively as they control traditional media. At the same time, Russia experienced explosive growth in online audiences, tipping the balance of control away from state-run television and toward the more open online sphere. Drawing upon studies of small-scale protests involving health issues and children with disabilities, Oates provides compelling evidence of the way Russians are translating individual grievances into rising political awareness and efficacy via the online sphere. The Russian state is struggling to change its information and control strategy in response to new types of information dissemination, networking, and protest. At the same time, this new environment has transformed a state strategy of co-opted elections into a powerful catalyst for protest and demands for rights. While the revolution remains stalled, Oates shows how a new and changing generation of internet users is transforming the public sphere in Russia."

Full Product Details

Author:   Sarah Oates (Professor of Political Communication, Professor of Political Communication, University of Glasgow)
Publisher:   Oxford University Press Inc
Imprint:   Oxford University Press Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 23.60cm , Height: 2.80cm , Length: 16.30cm
Weight:   0.445kg
ISBN:  

9780199735952

ISBN 10:   0199735956
Pages:   240
Publication Date:   09 May 2013
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In stock  
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Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ; Introduction ; The National Borders of the Internet: How the Russian State Shapes the Global Potential of ICTs ; The Internet Audience in Russia ; Internet Control in Russia ; Russian Parties On Line ; Parents and Patients: Online health and fairness campaigns in Russia ; The Winter of Discontent: Elections, Protests, and the Internet in Russia, 2011-12 ; Conclusions ; Appendix ; References ; Index

Reviews

<br> Revolution Stalled is a very thorough, balanced assessment of the impact of the internet on Russian politics. It is an important contribution to the fields of political communication, Russian area studies and internet studies more generally. --Bruce Etling, Director of the Internet & Democracy Project, Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Harvard Law School <br><p><br> In Revolution Stalled Sarah Oates offers a unique and highly instructive insight into the world of Russian politics on the Web. Starting from the crucially important premise that 'context matters' in determining how political actors' make use of the Net, the book shows that nowhere is this perhaps more the case than in Russia. Stopping short of predicting a 'Russian Spring' to match that witnessed in the Middle East, Oates skillfully identifies the central tension that the growth of the internet brings to non-democratic states. --Rachel Gibson, Professor of Political Science and Director, Institute for Social Change, University of Manchester <br><p><br>

Revolution Stalled is a very thorough, balanced assessment of the impact of the internet on Russian politics. It is an important contribution to the fields of political communication, Russian area studies and internet studies more generally. --Bruce Etling, Director of the Internet & Democracy Project, Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Harvard Law School In Revolution Stalled Sarah Oates offers a unique and highly instructive insight into the world of Russian politics on the Web. Starting from the crucially important premise that 'context matters' in determining how political actors' make use of the Net, the book shows that nowhere is this perhaps more the case than in Russia. Stopping short of predicting a 'Russian Spring' to match that witnessed in the Middle East, Oates skillfully identifies the central tension that the growth of the internet brings to non-democratic states. --Rachel Gibson, Professor of Political Science and Director, Institute for Social Change, University of Manchester Oates, in her wonderfully thorough and multifaceted analysis leads us closer to unraveling the unique dynamics of the internet in the context of Russian political communication. --Digital Icons: Studies in Russian, Eurasian and Central European New Media Sarah Oates has written a much-needed book about the Russian Internet (RuNet) that captures the impact of online political trends in authoritarian states without losing sight of the legacies and particularities that set Russia apart... Oates deserves praise for a book that synthesizes extant work from both Internet optimists and pessimists and adds significant findings from two original case studies. --The Russian Review Sarah Oates has undertaken and achieved an ambitious agenda in this tightly written, wide-ranging, and important book. --Slavic Review

Revolution Stalled is a very thorough, balanced assessment of the impact of the internet on Russian politics. It is an important contribution to the fields of political communication, Russian area studies and internet studies more generally. --Bruce Etling, Director of the Internet & Democracy Project, Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Harvard Law School In Revolution Stalled Sarah Oates offers a unique and highly instructive insight into the world of Russian politics on the Web. Starting from the crucially important premise that 'context matters' in determining how political actors' make use of the Net, the book shows that nowhere is this perhaps more the case than in Russia. Stopping short of predicting a 'Russian Spring' to match that witnessed in the Middle East, Oates skillfully identifies the central tension that the growth of the internet brings to non-democratic states. --Rachel Gibson, Professor of Political Science and Director, Institute for Social Change, University of Manchester

Revolution Stalled is a very thorough, balanced assessment of the impact of the internet on Russian politics. It is an important contribution to the fields of political communication, Russian area studies and internet studies more generally. --Bruce Etling, Director of the Internet & Democracy Project, Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Harvard Law School In Revolution Stalled Sarah Oates offers a unique and highly instructive insight into the world of Russian politics on the Web. Starting from the crucially important premise that 'context matters' in determining how political actors' make use of the Net, the book shows that nowhere is this perhaps more the case than in Russia. Stopping short of predicting a 'Russian Spring' to match that witnessed in the Middle East, Oates skillfully identifies the central tension that the growth of the internet brings to non-democratic states. --Rachel Gibson, Professor of Political Science and Director, Institute for Social Change, University of Manchester Oates, in her wonderfully thorough and multifaceted analysis leads us closer to unraveling the unique dynamics of the internet in the context of Russian political communication. --Digital Icons: Studies in Russian, Eurasian and Central European New Media Sarah Oates has written a much-needed book about the Russian Internet (RuNet) that captures the impact of online political trends in authoritarian states without losing sight of the legacies and particularities that set Russia apart... Oates deserves praise for a book that synthesizes extant work from both Internet optimists and pessimists and adds significant findings from two original case studies. --The Russian Review

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Professor of Political Communication, University of Glasgow

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