Internet, Sovereignty and the State: An Evaluation on How the Internet Influences National and International Governance

This study in evaluating arguments of how the Internet heralds the end of state sovereignty aims to consider how the Internet both nationally and internationally can at the same time have positive influences on governance. This article claims that despite the general tendency to regard the Internet as a technology that needs to be controlled, it can also be seen as a tool that strengthens national and global governance. This article firstly illustrates the conventional wisdom on how the Internet threatens state sovereignty. In doing so, it considers arguments on globalization and its effects on the state. The second half of the article focuses on how in the face of globalization forces the concept of sovereignty can be restructured, and how the state’s attitude towards information and communication technologies, particularly the Internet, can potentially strengthen state sovereignty and power structure.