GISWatch reports a "must-read"

"Since their launch in 2007, the annual GIS Watch reports have become must-read material for analysts and activists concerned with the global social, economic and political effects of information and communication technologies. The insightful Thematic Reports set the context and focus for each edition, and the regional and country reports provide concise and authoritative overviews of how that focus is playing out "on the ground" around the world. In keeping with that tradition, this year's edition on Internet rights and democratisation provides solid evidence that the simplistic binary choice offered up in popular treatments—either the Internet and other ICTs promote democratization, or they do not—is utterly unhelpful in grasping the forces that have been unleashed around the world. Under certain conditions, citizens have been able to use been able to use the technology to advance freedom and social justice, and under certain circumstances the forces of repression and control have been able to use the technology to counter or attenuate these advances. This volume provides a conceptually and empirically nuanced assessment of this dual reality and is thus a welcome corrective to an often ill-framed debate."