335 Manuel R. Torres Soriano Internet as a driver of political change that Internet was a natural ally of their foreign policies. The former Republican Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice stated: “Internet is possibly one of the biggest tools for democratisation and political freedom that we have ever seen before”7. This vision does not differ from the one held by his successor, the Democrat Hillary Clinton, who held “Internet Freedom”8 to be one of the priorities of American foreign action: “We are in favour of one single Internet, where all of humanity has access to knowledge and ideas”9. For cyber-optimists, Internet is a fore bearer of the establishing and reinforcing of democratic political systems. One of the most celebrated advocates of this opinion is the Egyptian executive of Google, Wael Ghonim, who attained certain degree of celebrity in becoming one of the most visible faces of the protest of the net users against the dictatorial regime of Hosni Mubarak. According to Wael: “If you want to liberate society, just give it Internet”10. The main reasons used by the cyber-optimists include: a. Giving power to isolated individuals. The new technologies facilitate and promote the circulation of information and the participation of the subjects in political issues. Cyberspace becomes a crucial instrument for citizens being able to apply pressure so as to obtain greater transparency and responsibility in the way their governments perform their actions11. The net opens up new pathways for the exercising of a fundamental right to democracy such as the freedom of expression, enabling consumers to be not just the consumers of information furnished by the mass media. Through cyberspace, individuals can express themselves freely and without the mediation of the protagonists, which represents an enriching of the political debate because a greater number of participants with different perspectives join in. b. Promoting inter-group relations. New connections between individuals and groups are created, both inside and outside national borders. Internet manages to produce a “densification of the public sphere”, something that is necessary in order for a social uprising to become consolidated and move on towards a 7 DOBRIANSKY, P. (2008): “New Media vs. New Censorship: The Assault,” remarks to Broadcasting Board of Governors, Washington D.C. (10 September). 8 FONTAINE, R. & ROGERS, W. (2011): Internet Freedom. A Foreign Policy Imperative in the Digital Age, Washington D. C.: Center for a New American Security. 9 CLINTON, H. R. (2010): “Remarks on Internet Freedom”, The Newseum, Washington DC. (January 21). 10 ORESKOVIC, A. (2011): “Egyptian Activist Creates Image Issue for Google,” Reuters, (12 February). 11 ZHENG, Y. (2007): Technological Empowerment: The Internet, State, and Society in China, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.; FRIEDMAN, T. L. (2010): “Power to the (Blogging) People”, The New York Times, (September 14).
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