Inside the Digital Revolution

Abstract

Heather Brooke is a professor in the department of journalism at City, University of London and she recently gained a PhD on the topic of freedom of information and the informed citizen in a democracy. Journal of International Affairs 2 T homas Paine described pre-Enlightenment government as "an assumption of power, for the aggrandizement of itself." By contrast the Enlightenment proposed a political system that was "a delegation of power, for the common benefit of society." Technology and transparency combined to create the digital revolution, which in turn has ushered in a new form of monitory democracy. Communicative abundance and global interconnection mean the democratic franchise can expand and deepen, but the author argues that it matters who is made transparent and for what purpose. Content and context matter. Technology and transparency can be used to strengthen democracy by opening up government to citizens, but the same tools can also be used by the state to surveil and disempower citizens, thereby damaging democracy. The author uses three case studies to discuss the impact of digitizing information on power relations between citizens and states. First1 That promise never appeared more real than when new digital technologies combined with transparency policies to create the digital revolution. Technology enabled instant, free, and global communication and zero-cost duplication and dissemination, while transparency emerged as the antidote to corruption, injustice, abuse of power, and even inefficiency. If secrecy was not the sole cause of these societal ailments, it was seen as the necessary precondition for their existence, and "right to know" laws swept across the globe.The digitization of information enabled industrial-scale leaks and I show in this paper how a series of mega-leaks pulled back the curtain on elite structures of governance while illuminating the true costs of secrecy and how it can often hinder public accountability of public resources.Technology and transparency were both essential in the creation of the digital revolution as they dramatically affected information flows between citizen and state, however early utopian ideas (including the author's own) that these changes inherently favored democracy were premature. Technology and transparency can be used to strengthen democracy by opening up government to citizens, but the same tools can also be used by the state to surveil and disempower citizens, thereby damaging democracy. The communications abundance of the digital revolution can democratize the public sphere by giving a platform to a wide range of voices, or it can create a climate where prejudice and propaganda run rampant. In order for technology and transparency to expand and strengthen democracy it matters who is made transparent and how technology is used. Content and context matter.This article examines the political impact of the digital revolution using three case studies to illustrate the way digital technology and transparency combined to affect power relations betwee...