Digital Eastern Europe

Information technology has changed the world around us. It has changed the way we work and the way we communicate. And the internet has also started to play an important role in politics. Some say, it will help us reinvent democracy. Others are convinced that the web reaches virtually everywhere and provides unprecedented tools of control over society.

There is no doubt that changes we have already witnessed, as well as those that are still ahead, cannot be ignored. The UN started regarding internet penetration as a significant metric in efforts at reducing poverty. Freedom House has also published its first fundamental report assessing freedom of the internet worldwide. Significantly, the internet ceased to be a luxury toy of rich societies. More and more people go online in all corners of the world. There is also a significant increase of internet penetration happening in the post-Soviet space, although this process is often ignored.

In our new column, Digital Eastern Europe, we will try to look at the old problems through a new perspective. We well discuss the social and political impact of the internet in societies which are still in the process of transition, as well as the new opportunities and challenges which arise from the international perspective of this process.

Starting off with two articles we have already published on e-diplomacy – EU Strategy Towards Ukraine: Time to engage in e-diplomacy and Transnistria's Model of Facebook Diplomacy – look out for a new text called Where Diplomacy Meets Marketing.

If you would like to contribute to this column, please email us at: editors@new.org.pl

Feel free to join the discussion!