Annotated Bibliography

Demidov, Oleg (2012).  Social Networks in International and National Security. In Security Index: A Russian Journal on International Security, 18:1, 23-36.

(Accessed online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19934270.2012.634122)

In this article, Oleg Demidov examines the impact that internet technology and social networking in particular have on security. He analyses the possible destabilizing effect technology can have on national security, ultimately questioning whether it is a security risk or not, with reference to the Arab Spring. Demidov defines ‘social networks’ first, rightfully highlighting that it is a broad spectrum, and narrowing it by giving examples, such as Facebook and Google+, and referring to an approved definition of ‘social network’ to state key features sites must contain in order to be a social network. 

Demidov examines the role that Arab Spring played in government reform regarding social media. He states that although freedom and speech were largely supported by the international community, it is unlikely that social networking communities have the power to become a non-state actor, and that an international country would fuel the decline of a government. He outlines the threats that social networking poses, for example, cyber anonymity and terrorist threats online work towards destabilizing security because it is difficult to determine where threats come from. A key factor in his argument is that he provides the reader with strong possible alternatives, and highlights the strengths of governments supporting the use of social networks, for example using Twitter and Facebook as a ‘public announcement system’ to broadcast safety procedures in the event of a national emergency.

Demidov asserts that while social networking communities played an important part in Arab Spring, there is no need to view them as a security threat.

Tejada, C. (2012, May 8) China Expels Al-Jazeera Foreign Correspondent. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from: http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2012/05/08/china-expels-al-jazeera-correspondent/

The author and speaker in the video, Carlos Tejada, speaking from Beijing, explains the situation in China at the moment, expanding on information given in the text regarding the expulsion of an Al-Jazeera journalist from China. Tejada explains that although the Chinese government have failed to give a reason, it is largely believed that the journalist’s work on a video regarding black jails in China attributed to her subsequent expulsion. There is an imbedded video of Melissa Chan’s video on black jails on the site, as opposed to on the other two sources. Tejada implies that this is the likely reason, and that officials in China are beginning to worry about foreign media coverage and their content, after Arab Spring, fearing a Jasmine Revolution in China. However, as Tejada is speaking as a journalist currently in China, his knowledge of the subject would likely be more accurate as the extent of the crackdown would be felt, highlighting that rules for foreign media organizations obtaining visas have become stricter. The interviewer states that China has not expelled a foreign journalist since 1998, but neglects to mention what this could imply for the future of foreign journalists in China. Tejada confirms that there is a tenser climate following Chan’s expulsion, by saying that China has already stated that foreign journalists need to obey the rules.

Osnos, E. (2012, May 8). China Expels a Correspondent. The New Yorker Blogs. Retrieved from: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/evanosnos/2012/05/china-expels-melissa-chan.html

The writer, Evan Osnos, gives an opinion on what he thinks of Melissa Chan’s expulsion from China, stating in his opening sentence that ‘China is moving backwards’. Osnos, like Tejada, is writing from Beijing, but he provides a more in-depth conclusion that this will have on China’s relations with the rest of the world. Moreover, Osnos has been producing journalism and has studied Chinese policy for over fifteen years, and the majority of his work on the New Yorker centres on China, and controversial issues within it. Osnos claims that China’s decision signifies a move backwards, towards ‘Soviet-era strategy’, explaining that China cannot expect to contain or censor foreign journalists by expulsion if they want to maintain their claims that they are a soft power. Moreover, Osnos, as opposed to Tejada and Lee, goes on to quote from the Foreign Correspondent’s Club China, of which Melissa Chan was a secretary this year, which strengthens his argument as it provides us with the picture that the future of journalism in China is dismal. Osnos, like Tejada, says it is most likely due to Chan’s praised work on corruption in China. Osnos also provides more information on foreign journalists having problems with Visas, stating that over the past two years, more than twenty-seven foreign journalists have had a four-month approval wait for their Visas. Osnos asserts that this will hardly present China as an internationally friendly state.

Wen, P. (2012, May 9). China expels al-Jazeera TV journalist. Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved from: http://www.smh.com.au/world/china-expels-aljazeera-tv-journalist-20120508-1yayj.html
Phillip Wen's article in the Sydney Morning Herald is also of Beijing origin, however, as opposed to the other two articles covering Melissa Chan's expulsion, Wen highlights more the reaction it has generated from agencies such as the Foreign Correspondents Club China, and this article presents us with a stronger sense of censorship regenerating in China, even though, as Wen states, this is the first occurrence for more than a decade.

Although there is no mention of the Communist Party in either Osnos nor Tejada's articles, Wen uses 'the ruling Communist Party' in his article, as opposed to writing 'the Chinese government', or alternatives. The use of the word Communist in that article brings up negative connotations and could give some people the view that China's policy is becoming more hardline and reflecting its previous Communist stance. Although hardline when it comes to human rights activists, China has, up until this point, worked towards promoting an atmosphere less tense than previous years. However, in the context of the recent Arab Spring and the implications that brought to government's, it is understandable that China could fear an uprising, only accentuated by journalists like Chan, whose work in China centred on corruption and Chinese 'black jails', which Wen does not state or imply, although it is made obvious in Tejada and Osnos' articles that this could lead to China's reason. 

Moreover, Wen neglects to cover in depth the effects that this may have in the future, although he mentions it in passing.