Human rights in cyber-space through the prism of democratic theory.

Abstract

As cyber-space gradually becomes a fully realized sphere of society and acquires a set of political connotations, the necessity of studying the virtual dimension of policy-making process becomes all the more urgent, including the need to pay more attention to the issue of human rights protection in cyber-space. At the same time, modern scientific research in the sphere of human rights mostly represents a fairly onedimensional point of view, as they focus on the legal side of the problem, primarily paying attention to the norms of international law. Present article explains and justifies the necessity and relevance of full-scale implementation of tools and methods of political science, particularly the concepts and ideas of pluralistic and deliberative democracy, in the process of studying the Internet as means of political communication, a tool for implementation of fundamental human rights, such as freedom of speech, the right to assembly and freedom of association.

Purpose of the research is complex in nature, as it strives to prove that the foundations for studying the ways the Internet influences policy-making process, were laid by classics of political studies in pre-digital and early digital era, while also analyzing the possibility of using the Internet as a tool of implementation of some of the main aspects of democratic theory beyond the boundaries of established democracies.

The research presented analysis of modern cyber-space against the background of J. Habermas’ concept of «public-sphere» as a space for productive and rational political discussion. Conclusions were also made concerning the possibility of application of communicative capacities of the Internet as the means of practical implementation of R. Dahl and J. Cohen concepts of democratic development. At the same time, presented set of practical proved the ability of online-community to perform the functions of civil society in authoritarian states, thus promoting development of certain aspects of democracy in the absence of traditional democratic institutions.