The problem of the interrelation of the Internet and politics in modern Russian researches

Abstract

In this article, we present a review of the modern discussion about the role of the Internet in politics among Russian researchers. We identify the main areas of modern research on this issue: the phenomenon of censorship in the Internet, the role of the Internet in election campaigns, the manipulative capabilities of the Internet, the interconnection of the Internet with ethnopolitical processes. We pay attention to the dispute over the impact of the Internet on the democratic institute and process and as well as on the growth of civil activity. We note that Internet communications are only tools for implementing change, an important condition for the realization of the potential of the World Wide Web is the nature of the political regime. We defined aspects of the problem of the role of the Internet in politics which should be considered further: the Internet as a factor of influence on ethnopolitical processes, the role of virtual reality in erasing the boundaries of ethnicity and the development of extremism and nationalistic sentiments, Internet communications as tools of modern election campaigns, features of influence (positive and negative) of the Internet on the growth of civic activity, media manipulation technology in the Internet, models of censorship in the Internet in modern states and others. We draw the conclusion that scientific research on various aspects on the issue of the interrelation of the Internet and politics continues in Russian science, but the debate about the role of the Internet in politics has not been completed. The lack of consensus on many issues is largely due to the fact that the introduction of Internet communications into politics is a complex and multifaceted process, so its scientific understanding also gives rise to many discussions.

Keywords:

Internet, Internet-communication, politics, political process, democratic institutions, election campaigns