Parchment, Printing, and Hypermedia

by Ronald J. Deibert

Interweaving media theory and historical analysis, this book explores the effect new digital-telecommunication technologies, which Deibert calls hypermedia, will have on the distribution of political power in the next century. Deibert tracks the transformation of Europe from the medieval to the modern and then turns to the hypermedia age, where new digital technologies such as the Internet, encryption, and high-resolution satellite imaging favor nonterritorial institutions and communities, shifting political authority and policymaking from individual nations to transnational corporations, global financial markets, and nongovernmental organizations and activists.

334 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 1997

About the author

Ronald J. Deibert is Professor of Political Science and Director of the Citizen Lab and Canada Centre for Global Security Studies, Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto.

Reviews

[Paul Callister · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent adaptation of media theory as a workable model for explaining historical developments in light of the information environment.