The Liberal Internet in the Postliberal Era

This book begins with an examination of the internet as a central institution of the post-Cold War liberal order. From this starting point, Johannes Thumfart analyzes the contemporary rise of digital sovereignty in Asia and Europe, alongside the establishment of private government within digital networks. He interprets these phenomena as indications of an emerging postliberal era. Thumfart engages with a wide array of empirical research and assesses liberal ideals such as state and net neutrality by discussing thinkers like Hegel, Schmitt, Mouffe, Taylor, Sandel, Fukuyama, Anderson, Jasanoff, and Girard, as well as network and rational choice theories. He contends that the internet's reification of liberal values has, paradoxically, subverted these values and catalyzed the transition to postliberalism. Thumfart suggests that instead of adhering to the traditional liberal focus on neutrality, states should adopt the more flexible approach of neutralization to respond to the complexities of this digital and postliberal era.

Examines the relationship between international relations and technology through the lens of the 'liberal internet' Unravels the history of Liberalism, from individual freedom to conceptions of democratic and infrastructural peace Connects the freedom recession in the 'postliberal era' with digital technologies and the rise of the Global South

Autorentext

Johannes Thumfart works at the intersection of STS and security studies, political philosophy, international law, and intellectual history. He is a fellow at the research group Law, Science, Technology, and Society (LSTS) at Vrije Universiteit Brussel. His research has been published in the Journal of Global Security Studies, Global Studies Quarterly, Grotiana, and AI and Ethics.

Inhalt

Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2:Conceptual, Terminological, and Methodological Clarifications.- Chapter 3: The Construction of Digital Sovereignty in Struggles for Recognition.- Chapter 4: Net Neutrality
, State Neutrality, and Neutralization.- Chapter 5: The Critique of Liberal Neutrality and the Concept of Neutralization.- Chapter 6: The Neutralizing Mechanism of Liberalism.- Chapter 7: The Aporias of Liberalism Before the Digital Age.- Chapter 8: The Aporias of Liberalism in the Digital Age.- Chapter 9: Practices
of Neutralization.- Chapter 10: Conclusion: Beyond the End of History.