The development of the Internet has allowed for many
claims about the future of democracy and governance. At one extreme,
there are those who see the end of the state coming in the globalized
world we inhabit. Others will point to computer technology and invoke
the images of 1984, George Orwell’s futuristic look at a state employing
communications technology for control.
In this paper, I argue that the Internet is usable by the state
as well as individuals and groups to serve its purposes. These efforts
will be studied from the framework of the creation of space, particularly
concepts of representations of space and representational spaces.
The Internet facilitates the creation of images of place that are
strategically used to influence perceptions of place.
In the case study, I examine Slovenia’s government websites to
demonstrate that a state does have a need to control information,
to project images that are aimed to induce activities like
tourism, investment, diplomacy, and establish an unequivocal
state identity. The government sites demonstrate that through
the use of symbols, propaganda cartography, carefully worded
text, and other iconography, representations of space and representational
spaces are created that support the goals of the Slovenian
state, which are placed in the context of the country’s position
in the system of global capitalism.
|