The Evolution of Cyberspace, the Blogo-Sphere, and Their Impact on Political Autonomy and Political Participation

I. Introduction

The cyberspace and the blogosphere have had a role to play in political autonomy and participation for as long as the internet has existed. The internet gives one a worldwide broadcasting capability, it is a mechanism for dissemination of information and a medium of collaboration and interaction between people irrespective of where they are situate in the world (Leiner, 2013). Cyberspace and blogosphere are part of the bigger picture that is the internet.

When it comes to the relationship between the internet and politics there exists two schools of thoughts, on one hand there are individuals who believe that this technology has some traits that help spread democracy around the world, and on the other hand there are those who believe that this instrument consolidates authoritarianism and political repression (Torres Soriano, 2013).

For a long time the internet was considered pro democratic in nature however in recent years this has been challenged by another antagonist perspective which furthers the notion that the internet not only fails to support the democratization process; but rather moreover it possess characteristics that lead to regression, by endowing authoritarian regimes with resources that empower social control and the effective persecution of dissidents (Torres Soriano, 2013).

Irrespective of the school of thought that one ascribes to it is agreeable that the internet through the cyberspace and blogosphere has hugely impacted the political scene in the world. The magnitude of the impact has progressively increased over the years as a result of the increased number of internet users in the world.