| Cultural struggles over a new communications technology are examined in three sites: France, Singapore and the Philippines. The dissertation analyzes the Internet as a site of cultural negotiation in each of these locations through a variety of lenses: at the national level, at the local/regional level and at the global level.;National governments position the Internet as an opportunity or a threat---enacting policies, regulations, or strategies to take advantage of the benefits of Internet technology, while minimizing its perceived risks. France, a centralized government, anxious about cultural imperialism of English, at first resisted the introduction of the Internet but later promoted it to ensure the presence of French content. This strategy positions France as an alternate cultural and economic center in the online global order: "un ordre multipolaire." Yet the far right party, The National Front, and the sans papiers---an immigrant rights movement---also employ the Internet as a way to introduce their differing concepts of French nationhood.;The highly autocratic government of Singapore embraces the Internet as part of an economic strategy to position the nation and its people as a high tech "Intelligent Island." Yet officials use regulation and lawsuits to control culturally and politically "subversive" content while marginalized political groups and critics counter with muted criticism or act to circumvent government controls.;In the Philippines, a distracted leadership has left development of the Internet to market forces, giving elites access to the Internet while the mass population is under-served. Groups supporting the Moro liberation movement and Gabriela, a left-leaning feminist organization, provide differing ideas of "nation" for the archipelago nation using the Internet to oppose the collusion of political elites with global capital.;Finally, the dynamic of the global economy and flexible labor force in the Philippines is highlighted. In this context, the Internet has become a means to transform a feminine labor force into an online commodity, for hire or for marriage. |
