Write two essays, each approx 5 double spaced pages long, on any two of the following topics.
(1) Many scholars and activists have claimed that the Internet enables much more participatory politics than in the past. Do you agree? Drawing on the readings for the course, examine the ways in which the Internet has, or has not, affected political participation in areas such as communication activities (e.g. blogging and/or YouTube), electoral politics and activist politics.
(2) Does the Internet facilitate the spread of democracy to non-democratic regimes? Does it instead have neutral or perhaps even harmful consequences. Drawing on the readings from the course, take one case study of a non-democratic country or region of the world, and use it to examine in depth how the Internet affects the prospects for democracy being established in this country or region.
(3) There is a strong consensus that the Internet has substantially affected the politics of copyright, making it difficult for copyright holders in certain sectors (music, movies) to defend their intellectual property, and easy for others to swap and/or reproduce it. In a brief essay, use the readings from the course to survey the empirical evidence - then advance a policy proposal as to how a specific actor or actors (this could be government, business, individuals or any mix of the above) should address the new challenges to copyright emerging from technological change.
(4) Is the so-called “Digital Divide” a real problem? How might it be solved if it is? In a brief essay, survey both the debate over the existence of the digital divide and proposed solutions to it, using materials from the course. Then either evaluate a proposed solution (if you believe that a solution is appropriate and necessary) or provide reasons why you believe that no such solution exists/is appropriate (if you don’t so believe).