Book Review, Culture, Education — June 20, 2020 at 4:46 am

Reprogramming the World Cyberspace and the Geography of Global Order

by

Reprogramming the World Cyberspace and the Geography of Global Order

Book details
The author: P.J. Bloun
Paperback: 216 pages
Publisher: E-International Relations (November 12, 2019)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1910814520
ISBN-13: 978-1910814529
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.5 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View and purchase on Amazon US)

We live in a world of “fake news”, data breaches, election hacking, and cyberwarfare in which 280 characters can change everything. Our analog past has been replaced with digital realities. The central claim of this book is that digital technologies are rewiring the way that society understands and thinks about global order as Cyberspace changes the content of international borders. The idea of a reprogrammed world, then, is one that does double duty. First, it performs a metaphorical function and maps the language of computer science and technology onto the system of global order. Throughout this book, the reader will find the use of these metaphors as a way to explain how digital technologies affect governance. Second, it describes a real and actual process that requires evaluation of the design of the international governance system. While international governance has never been a static process, the reprogramming being described herein is extraordinarily different from previous shifts in international governance. It is not the result of a war or of a contingent of sovereigns negotiating rules; it is a technologically driven process that redistributes power within that system and challenges the core concept of territorial sovereignty.

About the author
P.J. Blount is a Post-doctoral researcher at the University of Luxembourg in the Faculty of Law, Economics, and Finance. His research focuses on space and communications law. Previously he served as a Research Counsel and Instructor at the University of Mississippi School of Law; was a Visiting Scholar at the Beijing Institute of Technology, School of Law; and an Adjunct Professor at Montclair State University, Department of Political Science and Law. He holds a B.A. in English and an A.B.J. in Print Journalism from the University of Georgia; a J.D. from the University of Mississippi School of Law; an LL.M. in Public International Law from King’s College London; and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Global Affairs from Rutgers University.

Table of contents

  • The Problem of New Spaces
  • Cyber Landscapes
  • Legal Terrains
  • Political Places
  • The Nomos Of Cyberspace
  • Conflicting Territories
  • Standardizing Authority
  • Unbordered Rights
  • Reprogramming The World

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