Black Bloc Rising: Social Networks in Brazil (October 2013)
Brazil was convulsed by massive digitally-enabled protests between June and August 2013. While largely peaceful, a militant anarchist group emerged during this period – the Black Bloc – which seized the public imagination. Although preoccupying media and policy makers, comparatively little is known about what Black Bloc is, where it comes from, or how it operates. This latest publication from the Open Empowerment Initiative considers the presence of Black Bloc in cyberspace. It focuses specifically on Facebook, the dominant social media platform used by more than 80 percent of Brazilian internet users.
Strategic Note: Cyberspace & Open Empowerment in Latin America (June 2013)
Across Latin America, cyberspace is fundamentally rewiring the ways groups, individuals and states engage with politics, economics, social action and governance. With some 40% of the population now online, connectivity is expanding faster than in any other part of the world. Most of that expansion is happening amongst the young – digital natives with ambitions to change and better their lives. The recent street protests in Brazil may signal a new popular awakening, as digital natives flex their collective political muscles. This and more is explored in the Open Empowerment Initiative’s latest Strategic Note, which draws on new regional research.
A fine balance: Mapping cyber (in)security in Latin America (June 2012)
Latin American governments are worried about criminality in cyberspace. Like all regions around the world, Latin America is experiencing an information revolution. Internet usage is growing more rapidly than anywhere else in the world. Some 40 per cent of the population is online, with the world’s highest growth rates in mobile devices. The population is youthful and craves more online access. And, Latin Americans are the most voracious consumers of social media on the planet. However, Latin America’s information revolución is reinforcing already high crime rates. Learn more in the Open Empowerment Initiative’s first Strategic Note.
Upcoming work
MIT Press Publication
The Open Empowerment Initiative America is pleased to announce a forthcoming research publication. The volume – Open Empowerment: Latin America ́s Digital Revolution – will offer an original exploration of the changes underway, its regional implications, and what it means for the rest of the world. The edited book will review trends, patterns, and dynamics of information technologies in Latin America and the political, social and economic implications for the region ́s societies. In the process, it will also elaborate new methodologies, approaches to interpreting big data analytics and innovative social media monitoring techniques that are changing the way social science is apprehending change. The volume will also appraise how governments in the region are responding, including their tendency to securitize cyberspace, and the consequences for democracy and human rights.
Within the book will be several country case studies based on original research, including the following:
Brazil – “An emerging power’s approach to cyber-(in)security: assessing Brazilian threats and responses” by Gustavo Diniz, Misha Glenny and Robert Muggah
Colombia – “Colombia’s black web: guerrilla websites, twitter protests and the cybercrime challenge” by Elyssa Pachico and Hannah Stone from InSight Crime
El Salvador - “Online power and impotence in el Salvador” by James Bosworth and Samuel Logan from Southern Pulse
Mexico – “#DemocracyMX: impacts of cyberspace on Mexican civil society, drug cartels and government” by Jorge Soto and Constanza Gomez Mont
Argentina – “Internet, participación ciudadana y ciberdelito en Argentina” by Miguel Sumer Elías y Daniel Monastersky