NCJ Number
178799
Journal
Studies in Conflict & Terrorism Volume: 22 Issue: 3 Dated: July-September 1999 Pages: 257-269
Date Published
September 1999
Length
13 pages
Annotation
The case of Burma raises questions about the effect of modern computer communications on non-violent grass roots movements and on the balance of power between citizens and elected officials and between local, national, and international power structures.
Abstract
Geographically dispersed but linked by the Internet, the pro-democracy movement in Burma has been able to raise constitutional and national policy questions in the United States and to use information technology to further its goals, despite the fact that the movement has only a negligible constituency in the United States. The authors show how the Internet has aided the cause of activists in various cultures in ways that would not have been possible before the Internet's networking capabilities became cheaply and globally available. The authors conclude that Burma represents an intersection where information technology and non-violent action converge, but they also indicate that the use of the Internet to wage conflict undermines the traditional reliance on leadership. Advantages and disadvantages of Internet use by activist groups are noted. 36 notes