Rey Koslowski Political Science 577
Associate ProfessorT 5:45-8:35
Political ScienceDR 313B
University at AlbanyOffice Hours:
201 Milne HallT 4:45-5:45in Milne 201
T: 518-442-5314(and by appt.)
Information Technology, Globalization and Governance
Spring 2008
Preliminary Syllabus
This graduate course provides a broad overview of information revolutions and their impact on global politics. We will examine previous episodes of transformative changes in communications to place contemporary changes in a broader historical context and we will consider theoretical explorations of the relationship between information technologies and world politics. The bulk of the course, however, will examine the practical impact of the information revolution on state sovereingty, democratization, diplomacy, international political economy, international and homeland security and international organization. A particular emphasis will be placed on the information technologies used to run government agencies and other public sector organizations. We will also examine the move from "legacy systems" to integrated suites of standardized software known as Enterprise Systems in back office of government operations as well as the website “front ends” that connect these systems to citizens, private sector entities and other governments. We will investigate the use of such management information systems by international organizations such as the European Union and the United Nations as well as by international non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The course will also consider the global digital divide, efforts to bridge that divide and use information technologies to foster international development.
Prerequisites:
There are no course prerequisites or technical background prerequisites. Students should be open to learning to use specific information technologies if the opportunities to use them for class and research projects present themselves.
Main Textbooks: (Available at the RutgersUniversity Bookstore)
Ronald J. Deibert, Parchment, Printing, and Hypermedia: Communication in World Order Transformation (New York: Columbia University Press, 1997).
Andrew Chadwick,Internet Politics: States, Citizens, and New Communication Technologies (OxfordUniversity Press, New York and Oxford, 2006).
Wilson P. Dizard, Digital Diplomacy: U.S. Foreign Policy in the Information Age (Westport CT: Praeger 2001) ISBN 0275972283
Unless noted, all required journal articles can be accessed on-line at the UAlbany library under “e-journals.” This includes articles in Economist, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, etc.
Additional readings available online – at the Universal Resource Locators (URLs) given
Description of requirements:
Reviews of readings:
Students will submit three brief reviews (2 pages each -- approx. 500 words) of required weekly readings at the beginning of the session selected. Reviews are intended generate informed class discussion, so they must be written and submitted before class. These reviews should state the main arguments of individual pieces assigned, critically evaluate arguments made and relate the articles to one another (when possible). Each review is about 7% of course grade. Excellent reviews will receive 7 points, good reviews 6 points, passing reviews 4 points, failing reviews 3 points. A total of three reviews must be submitted for full credit. Students may choose which week’s readings to review, however, readings chosen must be distributed in the following manner:
One review of the readings from a session of Part I
One review of readings from a session of Part II
One review of readings from a session of Part III
If students do not hand in the required number of reviews by the end of each part of the course, the overdue review will be considered a failing review. They will not receive credit for the missing reviews.
3. Seminar Research Project:
Students are expected to write a research paper of about 7,000 words. While students are expected to draw on the material from the syllabus, the student’s research effort will be demonstrated by having at least 20 sources and majority of the paper’s references from outside material.
Students may select a topic of their own choosing as long as it is within the confines of the course and approved by the instructor.
Students will give a powerpoint presentation on their research project
4. Class participation --- Students are expected to attend all classes and prepare for class discussions by completing all reading assignments before class. Those students who contribute thoughtful comments and questions about the assigned readings on a regular basis and actively participate in discussions will receive an “A” for class participation. Students who do not regularly attend will receive an “F”; those who attend but do not participate will receive a “D;” those who occasionally participate or whose participation is not on topic will receive a “C” for participation.
Grading:
Reviewsabout 20%
Term projectabout 60%
Class participationabout 20%
Late assignments will be penalized.
Students must properly reference all sources, including assigned readings, in all written assignments.
Plagiarism and cheating will not be tolerated.
Course schedule:
1/29Introduction
Part I: The information revolution and change
2/5Information technology and the modern world order
Required readings:
Deibert, pp. 1-131
Manuel Castells, Materials for an Exploratory Theory of the Network Society,” British Journal of Sociology, Jan-Mar 2000, 51(1), 5-24.
2/12Rise of the Internet
Lab: Web-authoring
Required readings:
A Brief History of the Internet and Related Networks by Vinton G. Cerf
Chadwick, chs. 1-3
Deibert, 131-136
2/19 The Global Digital Divide
Paper proposals due (Posted online)
Required readings:
Chadwick ch. 4
Brendan Luyt, “Who benefits from the digital divide?” First MondayVolume 9, Number 8 - 2 August 2004
One laptop per child
and:
2/26 The Information Revolution, Economic Globalization and the State
Required readings:
Deibert, 137-157
Chadwick, Ch. 9
R. Keohane & J. Nye, "Power and Interdependence in the Information Age," Foreign Affairs Sept. 1998.
Geoffrey L.Herrera, “Technology and international systems”Millennium: Journal of International Studies 32, (2003): 559-593.
Saskia Sassen, “The Impact of the Internet on Sovereignty: Real and Unfounded Worries” presented at The Internet and International Systems: Information Technology and American Foreign Policy Decisionmaking, December 10, 2000, San Francisco, CA
Recommended resources:
Stephen Walt, “International Relations: One World Many Theories,” Foreign Policy,110 (Spr 1998), 29-46.
(For those who have not previously studied international relations)
Stephen J. Korbin, "The Architecture of Globalization: State Sovereignty in a Networked Global Economy," in John H. Dunning, ed. Governments, Globalization and International Business (Oxford U. Press, 1997).
David J. Rothkopf, "Cyberpolitik," Journal of International Affairs Spring 1998.
3/4 Information Technology, Democracy and Democratization
Required readings:
Chadwick ch. 5-7
Shanthi Kalathil, Taylor C. Boas, Open Networks, Closed Regimes, (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 2003)Chapters 1 and 2, published online at First Monday volume 8, number 1 (January 2003)
Recommended resources:
A Web site with a view — The Third World on First Monday Special Issue #8
McConnell International, “Risk E-Business: Seizing the Opportunity of Global E-Readiness,” August 2000
(An assessment of the preparedness of 42 countries to engage in the new economy.)
Bryan Pfaffenberger The Internet in China
Nina Hachigian, “China’s Cyber-Strategy,” Foreign Affairs, March/April 2001
Geoffry L. Taubman, “Keeping Out the Internet? Non-Democratic Legitimacy and Access to the Web,” First Monday, 7: no 9 Sept 2 2002.
Jeroen de Kloet Digitisation and Its Asian Discontents: The Internet, Politics and Hacking in China and IndonesiaFirst Monday, 7: no 9 Sept 2 2002.
Part II: Public Sector Information Technologies and State Capabilities
3/11Public Sector Reengineering, Enterprise Software and E-government
Required readings:
Thomas Davenport, “Putting the Enterprise into the Enterprise System,” Harvard Bus Rev, Jul-Aug 1998
SteveTowns, “Embracing the Enterprise in ERP” Government Technology, August 2000
Chadwick, ch. 7
UN Global E-government Readiness Report
Richard Heeks, “BenchmarkingeGovernment: Improvingthe National andInternational Measurement,Evaluation and Comparisonof eGovernment” iGOVERNMENT - WORKING PAPERS Paper No. 18, 2006
“OPEN: Seoul's Anticorruption Project”
“The Need to Know: eCorruption and Unmanaged Risk,” AustralianTechnologyPark, Sydney
21-22 May 2001
Recommended resources:
General Services Administration, Office of Electronic Government and Technology
U.S. Federal Chief Information Officers (CIO) Council
Government Technology (Trade Magazine)
Government Computer News (Trade Magazine)
Federal Computer Week (Trade Magazine)
Institute for Development Policy and Management, The University of Manchester
iGOVERNMENT - Information, Systems, Technology and Government: WORKING PAPERS
Some Assembly Required: Building a Digital Government for the 21st Century
The HarvardKennedySchool, E-Government Executive Education (3E) Project
Paper series: Eight Imperatives for Leaders in a Networked World
United Kingdom Parliament, Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology,
Electronic Government: Information Technologies and the Citizen
IBM’s Institute for Electronic Government
Digital Government.org (dg.o seeks to assist in the formation of research collaborations, leverage information technology research and identify financial resources to help build the Digital Government of the 21st Century.)
ERP in the Public Sector
World Bank E-Government Site
3/18Diplomacy in the Information Age
Required readings:
Wilson P. Dizard, Digital Diplomacy (entire)
U.S. State Department, FY 2006-2010: IT Strategic Plan Goals Paper
U.S. State Department, Office of Information Resource Management (especially E-diplomacy Office)
Joe Johnson, “WiringState: A Progress Report” Foreign Service Journal, December 2005
Ben Bain, “Chat room diplomacy,” Federal Computer Week, Sept. 3, 2007.
Recommended resources:
The Internet and International Systems: Information Technology and American Foreign Policy Decisionmaking, a workshop co-hosted by the Nautilus Institute and the World Affairs Council of
Northern California. December 10, 2000, San Francisco, CA
US Institute For Peace, Virtual Diplomacy Project:
David Ronfeldt and John Arquilla, "What if there is a Revolution in Diplomatic Affairs,"
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Diplomacy in the Information Age Project
Smith, Gordon, S., "Reinventing Diplomacy: A Virtual Necessity."
U.K. Foreign & Commonwealth Office, e-diplomacy: the FCO e-business strategy, July 2001, pdf at:
4/1 Revolution in Military Affairs, Information Warfare and Cyberterrorism
Required readings:
Deibert, pp. 164-176
Admiral William A. Owens, “Revolutionizing Warfare” Blueprint: Ideas for a New Century, Winter 2000
Donald Rumsfeld, “Transforming the Military” Foreign Affairs 81:3 (May-June 2002), 20-32.
James Adams, “Virtual Defense,” Foreign Affairs, May/June 2001, 98-112
Matt Bishop and Emily O. Goldman, The Strategy and Tactics ofInformation Warfare,” Contemporary Security Policy 24, (1) (Apr. 2003),pp. 113-139.
White House, National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace, February 2003, (Read executive summary) available in pdf at:
Evan F., Kohlmann, “The Real Online Terrorist Threat,” Foreign Affairs, Sep/Oct2006.
Bill Joy, "Why the future doesn't need us" Wired April 2000
Recommended resources:
Wired, The Future of War Archive
Martin Libicki, "Rethinking War: The Mouse's New Roar?" Foreign Policy, Winter 1999-2000
Federation of American Scientists, Information Warfare and Information Security on the Web
4/8 Information Technology and Homeland Security
Required readings:
National Strategy for Homeland Security July 2002.
Read: “Executive Summary” “Information Sharing and Systems”
Charles Mann, “Homeland Insecurity,” The Atlantic Monthly, September 2002.
Robert Popp, Thomas Armour, Ted Senator, Kristen Numrych, “Countering terrorism through information technology,”Communications of the ACMVolume 47, Issue 3 (March 2004)
Rey Koslowski, "Immigration Reforms and Border Security Technologies" in Border Battles: The U.S. Immigration Debates," The Social Science Research Council, July 31, 2006.
Ryan Singel “New Real I.D. Rules To Shut Down Nation's Airports in May?” Wired Jan. 11, 2008.
Chadwick, ch. 11
Recommended resources:
Thomas Homer-Dixon, “the Rise of Complex Terrorism,” Foreign Policy, No. 128 (Jan/Feb) 2002.
Stephen E Flynn, “America the Vulnerable,” Foreign Affairs, Vol. 81, No. 1, Jan./Feb.2002, pp. 60-74.
Making the Nation Safer: The Role of Science and Technology in Countering Terrorism
Committee on Science and Technology for Countering Terrorism, Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences, National Research Council
Protecting America’s Freedom in the Information Age, A Report of the Markle Foundation’s Task Force October 2002.
Government Accounting Office, Special Collections - Homeland Security
U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism and Government Information
Electronic PrivacyInformationCenter (EPIC):
Part III: Information Technology and Global Governance
4/15 Global Governance of the Cyberspace
Chadwick, Chs. 10, 12
Lawrence Lessig, “Innovation, Regulation and the Internet,” The American Prospect
November 30, 2002
Zoe Baird, “Governing the Internet: Engaging Government, Business, and Nonprofits,”
Foreign Affairs, November/December 2002.
Daniel Drezner, The Global Governance of the Internet: Bringing the State Back In,” Political Science Quarterly, 2004 posted at:
Recommended resources:
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
The Internet Governance Forum
Internet Policy Institute
The BerkmanCenter for Internet & Society
A research program founded to explore cyberspace, share in its study, and help pioneer its development. The Center is a network of teaching and research faculty from HarvardLawSchool and elsewhere -- as well as students, fellows, entrepreneurs, lawyers, and virtual architects working to identify and engage the challenges and opportunities of cyberspace.
4/22 International Organizations
In class power point presentations due
Required readings:
"Information technology in the Secretariat: a plan of action: Report of the Secretary-General," A/55/770, Feb 13, 2001"
"Integrated Management Information System project: Twelfth progress report of the Secretary General" A/55/632, Nov. 17, 2000
Directorate-General for Informatics (DIGIT)
Read “about DIGIT”
eEurope 2005: An information society for all
IDABC:Interoperable Delivery of European eGovernment Services to public Administrations, Business and Citizens.
Look at:
Look at:
Look at:
Recommended resources:
Skim: Consultative Committee on Administrative Questions, "REPORT OF THE AD-HOC INTER-AGENCY WORKING GROUP ON THE CO-ORDINATION OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM"ACC/2000/CCAQ-HL/3 ( 4 July 2000)
Information Systems Co-ordination Committee (ISCC) Public Internet
“UN implementing an ambitious integrated management information system,” Government Computerization Newsletter No. 8 Dec. 1996
Brenda Iverson, Robert Schultz and Muhammed Shakil, “The United Nations Turns to Expert Systems”
"eEurope: An Information Society For All"
European Union, Information Society Directorate-General of the European Commission
4/29 Non-Governmental Organizations
Required readings:
Deibert, 157-164
Jessica Mathews, “Power Shift,” Foreign Affairs,Jan/Feb. 1997.
Ken Rutherford, The Landmine Campaign and NGOs: The Role of Communications Technologies
Ronald Diebert, “International Plug n’ Play? Citizen Activism, the Internet, and Global Public Policy,” International Studies Perspectives, Vol. 1 (2000), pp. 255-272.
Daniel W. Drezner, Henry Farrell, “Web of Influence,” Foreign Policy, Nov./Dec 2004
Look at:
Recommended resources:
Craig Warkentin and Karen Mingst, “International Institutions, the State and Global Civil Society in the Age of the World Wide Web,”Global Governance, Vol. 6, Issue 2 Apr-Jun2000.
Craig Cox, “Plugged into Protest? E-activists rally on the Web, but can they build a movement?” Utne Reader, No. 100.
Union of International Associations (UIA)
(The UIA has been collecting, publishing and disseminating information on international nonprofit organizations since its creation in 1910, as its central activity. This has been further developed to cover information on their international meetings, their problems, and their strategies.)
International Campaign to Ban Landmines
The Sierra Club: Responsible Trade Campaign
MAI-not
Public Citizen Global Trade Watch
Earth Island Institute
5/6 Information Technology and International Development
Final Paper due
Required readings:
Allen L. Hammond, “Digitally Empowered Development,” Foreign Affairs, March/April 2001
Charles Kenny “Development’s False Divide: Giving Internet access to the world's poorest will cost a lot and accomplish little,” Foreign Policy Jan/Feb 2003
Daniel H. Rosen, “New Directions in U.S. Foreign Assistance and the Role of Information and Communication Technology,” Markle Foundation Policy Brief, posted at:
Report of the Tunis phase of the World Summit on the Information Society,
Tunis, Kram Palexpo, 16-18 November 2005
Richard Heeks, “Understanding e-Governance for Development,” iGOVERNMENT - Information, Systems, Technology and Government: Working paper, No. 11 (2001) at:
Kerry S. McNamara, (2003). "Information and Communication Technologies, Poverty and Development: Learning from Experience" (PDF). World Bank, WashingtonD.C., USA.
Recommended resources:
The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)
The Information for Development Program (infoDev)
(Global grant program managed by the World Bank to promote innovative projects on the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for economic and social development, with a special emphasis on the needs of the poor in developing countries)
Global Information Infrastructure Commission (GIIC)
(The mission of the Global Information Infrastructure Commission (GIIC) is to foster private sector leadership and private-public sector cooperation in the development of information networks and services to advance global economic growth, education and quality of life.)
The Journal: Information Technology for Development
Bellanet
An international initiative working with the development community to increase collaboration. Supports partnerships by providing advice and assistance on more effective use of information and communication technologies (ICTs).
The Global Public Policy project
(Explores the role of global public policy networks in strengthening the effectiveness and efficiency of the United Nations in today's constantly changing global environment.)
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