Evgeny Morozov
Encyclopedia
Evgeny Morozov, born 1984 in Soligorsk, Belarus
, is a writer and researcher who studies political and social implications of technology.
, a fellow at the New America Foundation
, and a contributing editor of and blogger for Foreign Policy magazine, for which he writes the blog Net Effect. He has previously been a Yahoo! fellow at Georgetown University
's Walsh School of Foreign Service, a fellow at the Open Society Institute
, director of new media at the NGO Transitions Online
, and a columnist for the Russian newspaper Akzia. In 2009 he was chosen as a TED fellow
where he spoke about how the Web influences civic engagement and regime stability in authoritarian
, closed societies or in countries "in transition."
Morozov's writings have appeared in various newspapers and magazines around the world, including The New York Times
, The Wall Street Journal
, Financial Times
, The Economist
, The Guardian
, New Scientist
, The New Republic
, Times Literary Supplement, Newsweek International, International Herald Tribune
, Boston Review
, Slate
, and the San Francisco Chronicle
.
about the popular view that the Internet is helping to democratize authoritarian regimes, arguing that it could also be a powerful tool for engaging in government surveillance, spreading nationalist and extremist propaganda, and harassing the dissidents. He has also criticized what he calls "The Internet Freedom Agenda" of the US government, finding it naive and even counterproductive to the very goal of promoting democracy through the Web.
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, is a writer and researcher who studies political and social implications of technology.
Life
He is a visiting scholar at Stanford UniversityStanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, a fellow at the New America Foundation
New America Foundation
The New America Foundation is a non-profit public policy institute and think tank with offices in Washington, D.C. and Sacramento, CA. It was founded in 1999 by Ted Halstead, Sherle Schwenninger, Michael Lind and Walter Russell Mead....
, and a contributing editor of and blogger for Foreign Policy magazine, for which he writes the blog Net Effect. He has previously been a Yahoo! fellow at Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
's Walsh School of Foreign Service, a fellow at the Open Society Institute
Open Society Institute
The Open Society Institute , renamed in 2011 to Open Society Foundations, is a private operating and grantmaking foundation started by George Soros, aimed to shape public policy to promote democratic governance, human rights, and economic, legal, and social reform...
, director of new media at the NGO Transitions Online
Transitions online
Transitions Online is a media development organization and online journal covering news and events in the 29 post-Communist countries of Eastern Europe, Central Europe, South Eastern Europe, Russia, the Baltics, the Caucasus, Central Asia.- History :...
, and a columnist for the Russian newspaper Akzia. In 2009 he was chosen as a TED fellow
TED (conference)
TED is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading"....
where he spoke about how the Web influences civic engagement and regime stability in authoritarian
Authoritarianism
Authoritarianism is a form of social organization characterized by submission to authority. It is usually opposed to individualism and democracy...
, closed societies or in countries "in transition."
Morozov's writings have appeared in various newspapers and magazines around the world, including The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
, The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
, The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, New Scientist
New Scientist
New Scientist is a weekly non-peer-reviewed English-language international science magazine, which since 1996 has also run a website, covering recent developments in science and technology for a general audience. Founded in 1956, it is published by Reed Business Information Ltd, a subsidiary of...
, The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
, Times Literary Supplement, Newsweek International, International Herald Tribune
International Herald Tribune
The International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international newspaper. It combines the resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 38 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 160 countries and territories...
, Boston Review
Boston Review
Boston Review is a bimonthly American political and literary magazine. The magazine covers, specifically, political debates, literature, and poetry...
, Slate
Slate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
, and the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
.
Thought
Morozov expresses skepticismSkepticism
Skepticism has many definitions, but generally refers to any questioning attitude towards knowledge, facts, or opinions/beliefs stated as facts, or doubt regarding claims that are taken for granted elsewhere...
about the popular view that the Internet is helping to democratize authoritarian regimes, arguing that it could also be a powerful tool for engaging in government surveillance, spreading nationalist and extremist propaganda, and harassing the dissidents. He has also criticized what he calls "The Internet Freedom Agenda" of the US government, finding it naive and even counterproductive to the very goal of promoting democracy through the Web.
The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom
In January 2011, Morozov published his first book The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom. In addition to exploring the impact of the Internet on authoritarian states, the book investigates the intellectual sources of the growing excitement about the liberating potential of the Internet and links it to the triumphalism that followed the end of the Cold War . Morozov also argues against the ideas of what he calls cyber-utopianism (the inability to see the Internet's darker side) and Internet-centrism (the growing propensity to view all political and social change through the prism of the Internet.)External links
- Personal website
- Net.Effect, Morozov's blog at Foreign PolicyForeign PolicyForeign Policy is a bimonthly American magazine founded in 1970 by Samuel P. Huntington and Warren Demian Manshel.Originally, the magazine was a quarterly...
magazine - netdelusion.com, the Net Delusion book site (includes excerpts and additional information about the book)
- Video (with mp3 available) of discussion about cyber-war and social media with Morozov and Ethan ZuckermanEthan ZuckermanEthan Zuckerman is the director of the MIT Center for Civic Media, officially starting in September 2011.Zuckerman was one of the first staff members of Tripod.com, one of the first successful "dot com" enterprises, and later founder of Geekcorps and Global Voices Online...
on Bloggingheads.tvBloggingheads.tvBloggingheads.tv is a political, world events, philosophy, and science video blog discussion site in which the participants take part in an active back and forth conversation via webcam which is then broadcast online to viewers... - "The Digital Dictatorship" in The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, 2010-2-20. - "Texting Toward Utopia: Does the internet spread democracy?" in Boston ReviewBoston ReviewBoston Review is a bimonthly American political and literary magazine. The magazine covers, specifically, political debates, literature, and poetry...
(March/April 2009) - "Cyber-Scare: The exaggerated fears over digital warfare" in Boston Review (July/Aug 2009)
- "Edit This Page: Is it the End of Wikipedia?" in Boston Review (Nov/Dec 2009)
- "The Internet in Society: Empowering and Censoring Citizen?", an animated talk presented by the RSA
- "TED Talks: How the Net aids dictatorships", Morozov's TED talk
- "Twitter Can't Save You", review of The Net Delusion in "The New York Times"
- "Caught in the net", review of The Net Delusion in "The Economist"
- "Political Repression 2.0", Morozov's oped in "The New York Times"