The state power and civil society in a cyber-space

Abstract

This article is aimed at a thorough analysis of the ways through which the Internet has been enriching a political discourse and, thus, it has been changing the format of the relations between the state power and civil society with the particular focus on the mechanisms that civil society employs to influence domestic and foreign policy. The article explores the links between a civil society activism and an openness of public policy. The main conclusion is that the Internet empowers everyone that poses a significant challenge to the state power. The Internet gives additional benefits for politically-motivated individuals and groups with low access to the financial resources. It facilitates social mobilization of protesters, both individuals and groups through educating the public and media, rising funds, forming coalitions across geographical boundaries, as well as coordination of the events on a national and international level.

Keywords

• влада
• громадянське суспільство
• держава
• Інтернет
• кібер-простір
• конфлікт
• соціальні мережі