Complexity and Social Media: The Role of Virtual Associations in Supporting Democratic Responses to Complex Global Problems

Since the Second World War, complex problems like climate change and the threat of terrorism have resisted all attempts to combat them. Our system of global governance has manifestly failed to perform its task. New and radically different approaches are needed if we are to successfully overcome these most serious challenges. The rise of modern information and communication technologies has given mankind access to a new set of tools that may strengthen our capacity to govern complex global problems. Through these tools people have become involved in a new kind of social organization -- the virtual social network (VSN). Already, such networks have begun to play an important, though unofficial and largely overlooked, role in governance.;Existing scholarship on the involvement of virtual social networks in governance has tended to look narrowly at only a few VSNs and has employed a simplistic model of governance that ignores the dilemmas involved in dealing with complex problems and diverse societies. This thesis aims to address both of these shortcoming by looking comprehensively at the ways that VNS engage with governance, incorporating both well and lesser known examples of VSNs, and by assessing the contributions of these networks, using a model of governance informed by complexity science.;In this thesis, I look at one hundred VSNs and categorize them in terms of the governance activities they carry out. I reveal that VSNs are already involved in almost every arena of governance. I look at how effective VSNs are at dealing with complexity. I pinpoint strengths and weaknesses of VSNs, and identify key questions that remain about the ability of VSNs to engage in governance. Finally, I consider my findings in light of the relevant theoretical literature and lay out a research program for potential further work in this still neglected area of study. In my conclusion, I am able to offer a number of recommendations to VSN designers, policy makers and the general public about how to use VSNs more effectively.