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Foreign Policy
Virtual Civil Society?
Critics of political scientist Robert Putnam have seized on the rise of the Internet to rebut his views on the decline of associational life in America.
But the argument that the Internet is creating a meaningful, virtual civil society depends heavily on the medium’s ability to generate “social capital”—what Putnam identified as the “features of social organization such as networks, norms, and social trust that facilitate coordination and cooperation for mutual benefit” among citizens. It is not enough for the Internet—like the telegram, telephone, or fax machine before it—to encourage the organization of groups. Instead, Internet-based associations need to have the same qualities as associations in traditional civil society, with members interacting as if they were in a church, conference center, or ballpark. Beyond being a tool, cyberspace needs to be a place.
Clearly, the Internet is a powerful communications tool. The poster child for Internet activism, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), has electronically joined nongovernmental groups committed to the ban of antipersonnel landmines, allowing them to exchange information more easily. Even the most traditional elements of civil society are adapting to this new technology: The Roman Catholic Church now regularly broadcasts masses over the Web.
But, as Internet pundits have pointed out, cyberspace can also become a place where individuals associate around issues of importance to them. Not only do Catholic priests hold masses over the Web, they converse with the devout in chat rooms. And by 1999, the ICBL had transcended its role as an electronic relay service, become a coalition of more than 1,300 organizations that was able to pressure 89 nations to ratify the Land Mine Treaty, and won a Nobel Peace Prize. When associations emerge in or from cyberspace and unite individuals around a common interest or goal, the Internet becomes more than just an advance over the telephone—it becomes a place where social capital is generated.
Ultimately, however, the key link between virtual civil society and social capital theory will be the depth of individuals’ commitments to their “online communities.” So far, the strength of these bonds has gone untested. As a result, the implications of virtual civil society remain nebulous—much like cyberspace itself.
–William Barndt
Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace