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This article argues that Harold Innis' method of communications analysis is sufficiently modular that it can be applied to a medium not addressed in his own work - the Internet. It further argues that Innis developed this method because he believed each new medium faces us with a moral choice, and that his concern for the space/time balance represents a moral level of analysis focused on a medium's implications for freedom and humanism. Once applied to the Internet, this analytical method identifies reasons to be concerned for the social and political impact of this technology. Résumé : Cet article soutient que la méthode d'analyse en communications d'Harold Innis est suffisamment modulable pour pouvoir s'appliquer à un média qu'il n'a pas pu étudier de son vivant, Internet. L'article soutient en outre qu'Innis a développé sa méthode parce qu'il croyait que chaque nouveau média nous donne l'occasion de faire un choix moral, et parce que son souci pour un équilibre espace/temps représente une approche qui est elle-même morale, axée comme elle l'est sur les conséquences des médias pour la liberté et l'humanisme. Cette méthode analytique, quand on l'applique à Internet, indique qu'on a raison de se préoccuper des impacts sociaux et politiques de cette technologie.

Might online social relations play a role in the rise of political solidarities sufficient to support a democratic postnationalist project? As things currently stand, it does not appear that the Internet supports either the commitment or cohesiveness needed to underpin a demanding new mode of social and political relations. Looking at factors such as conceptions of community and social interaction, systems of meaning, political engagement, and social inclusivity can help us assess the question. The exercise suggests that while the Internet may be a factor in change, it may not yield the kind of change many are anticipating. This finding raises doubts concerning the postnationalist hope that new social and political bonds will help ground transnational projects such as the European Union.

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This book takes a unique approach to explore the moral foundations of nationalism. Drawing on nationalist writings and examining almost 200 years of nationalism in Ireland and Quebec, the author develops a theory of nationalism based on its role in representation.The study of nationalism has tended towards the construction of dichotomies -arguing, for example, that there are political and cultural, or civic and ethnic, versions of the phenomenon. However, as an object of moral scrutiny this bifurcation makes nationalism difficult to work with. The author draws on primary sources to see how nationalists themselves argued for their cause and examines almost two hundred years of nationalism in two well-known cases, Ireland and Quebec. The author identifies which themes, if any, are common across the various forms that nationalism can take and then goes on to develop a theory of nationalism based on its role in representation. This representation-based approach provides a basis for the moral claim of nationalism while at the same time identifying grounds on which this claim can be evaluated and limited.It will be of strong interest to political theorists, especially those working on nationalism, multiculturalism, and minority rights. The special focus in the book on the Irish and Quebec cases also makes it relevant reading for specialists in these fields as well as for other area studies where nationalism is an issue.