Comments on: Diplomacy and the Iranian Blogosphere http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/idblog/2008/12/04/diplomacy-and-the-iranian-blogosphere/ Thoughts from the Internet and Democracy Project team at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:33:36 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: » Internet Weakens Democracy? I&D Blog http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/idblog/2008/12/04/diplomacy-and-the-iranian-blogosphere/comment-page-1/#comment-4007 » Internet Weakens Democracy? I&D Blog Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:32:31 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/idblog/?p=318#comment-4007 [...] democratic movements than the immense proliferation of speech on the web. This is what makes the Iranian blogosphere so vibrant, the Chinese one so resilient and the Burmese one so dedicated, despite varying levels [...] [...] democratic movements than the immense proliferation of speech on the web. This is what makes the Iranian blogosphere so vibrant, the Chinese one so resilient and the Burmese one so dedicated, despite varying levels [...]

]]> By: Chris Van Buren http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/idblog/2008/12/04/diplomacy-and-the-iranian-blogosphere/comment-page-1/#comment-3815 Chris Van Buren Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:52:30 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/idblog/?p=318#comment-3815 Your first point is well taken. MSM and Iran is alarmist and reductive. I suppose what I meant to suggest in characterizing the blogosphere as "democratic in character" is that it is still under a decent amount of duress from state intimidation and blogger arrests (Mojtaba Saminejad was arrested for blogging about the arrests of other bloggers). Though less than expected (and certainly less compared to either Burma or China), Iran still filters sensitive political material, particularly sites by expats and reformists inside Iran. The whole system, like its government, is a strange hybrid of democratic and authoritarian elements. The latter undoubtedly have a chilling effect on the former. What its missing therefore is consistent openness and legal protection of speech. Your first point is well taken. MSM and Iran is alarmist and reductive.

I suppose what I meant to suggest in characterizing the blogosphere as “democratic in character” is that it is still under a decent amount of duress from state intimidation and blogger arrests (Mojtaba Saminejad was arrested for blogging about the arrests of other bloggers). Though less than expected (and certainly less compared to either Burma or China), Iran still filters sensitive political material, particularly sites by expats and reformists inside Iran.

The whole system, like its government, is a strange hybrid of democratic and authoritarian elements. The latter undoubtedly have a chilling effect on the former. What its missing therefore is consistent openness and legal protection of speech.

]]> By: sy http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/idblog/2008/12/04/diplomacy-and-the-iranian-blogosphere/comment-page-1/#comment-3799 sy Thu, 04 Dec 2008 21:11:14 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/idblog/?p=318#comment-3799 The amount of dissent tolerated is not actually surprising to those who follow Iran closely. If your lens is western MSM, then, yes, you will be surprised. What's more, in the final years of Khatami's presidency, after September 11, Iran very much tried for contact and discussion -- ignored by the Bush administration -- so it’s not quite right that both governments have been loath, as you say, to re-open diplomatic ties. In any case, I’m trying to figure out why you’re hedging in the paragraph beneath the graphic. Is the Persian language blogosphere democratic or not? If not, if, instead, it’s ‘too a degree,’ ‘resembles,’ etc., what’s missing? The amount of dissent tolerated is not actually surprising to those who follow Iran closely. If your lens is western MSM, then, yes, you will be surprised. What’s more, in the final years of Khatami’s presidency, after September 11, Iran very much tried for contact and discussion — ignored by the Bush administration — so it’s not quite right that both governments have been loath, as you say, to re-open diplomatic ties. In any case, I’m trying to figure out why you’re hedging in the paragraph beneath the graphic. Is the Persian language blogosphere democratic or not? If not, if, instead, it’s ‘too a degree,’ ‘resembles,’ etc., what’s missing?

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