VIRTUAL STATES The Internet and the boundaries of the nation-state

First published in 2000. Virtual States challenge the idea that the nation state is dead. In all the hype about the Internet, little thought has been given to the systematic inequalities being brought about by globalisation, and exacerbated by the global spread of the Internet. Jerry Everard argues that new disparities are emerging between the information 'haves' ad the information 'have-nots': between wealthy and poor states; and between the wealthy and poor in wealthy states. Virtual States systematically addresses these inequalities.

PART I Virtual states: theory and practice 1 W(h)ither the state? 2 internet@www.history.edu PART II The developing world 3 Hungry, thirsty and wired 4 Sovereignty, boundary making and the Net 5 Culture and the Other on the Internet PART III The developed world 6 Process: the key to the Cyborg 7 economy@internet.com 8 The @ of war PART IV Internet and society 9 Virtually real/really virtual 10 Internet censorship: US, Europe and Australia 11 alt.cyberspace.binaries.philosophy

Jerry Everard is in the Department of English and Theatre Studies at the Australian National University. This book was written while on secondment from the Department of Defence in Canberra and does not necessarily reflect official Australian government views.