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Overview
As the informational state replaces the bureaucratic welfare state, control over information creation, processing, flows, and use has become the most effective form of power. In Change of State Sandra Braman examines the theoretical and practical ramifications of this "change of state." She looks at the ways in which governments are deliberate, explicit, and consistent in their use of information policy to exercise power, exploring not only such familiar topics as intellectual property rights and privacy but also areas in which policy is highly effective but little understood. Such lesser-known issues include hybrid citizenship, the use of "functionally equivalent borders" internally to allow exceptions to U.S. law, research funding, census methods, and network interconnection. Trends in information policy, argues Braman, both manifest and trigger change in the nature of governance itself.
After laying the theoretical, conceptual, and historical foundations for understanding the informational state, Braman examines 20 information policy principles found in the U.S Constitution. She then explores the effects of U.S. information policy on the identity, structure, borders, and change processes of the state itself and on the individuals, communities, and organizations that make up the state. Looking across the breadth of the legal system, she presents current law as well as trends in and consequences of several information policy issues in each category affected.
Change of State introduces information policy on two levels, coupling discussions of specific contemporary problems with more abstract analysis drawing on social theory and empirical research as well as law. Most important, the book provides a way of understanding how information policy brings about the fundamental social changes that come with the transformation to the informational state.
About the Author
Sandra Braman is Professor in the Department of Communication, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She is the editor of Communication Researchers and Policy-Making (MIT Press, 2003).
Reviews
“Valuable insight into the way the U.S. state (particularly under the administration of George W. Bush) has developed its information policies.” — Lee Salter, Global Media and Communication
“This is stimulating work and, although the focus is upon US information policy and most of the examples are drawn from the USA, the conclusions and the lessons to be learnt are valid universally.” — Professor T.D. Wilson, Editor-in-Chief, Information Research
Endorsements
"A seminal book, impressive in its range, skill, and depth. Sandra Braman is one among a vanishingly small number of scholars with the skill and theoretical imagination to 'think' the information policy fields together. An important book for researchers, students, and policymakers."
Steven J. Jackson, University of Michigan
"This book is an excellent and up-to-date review of information policies and related social issues in the United States from the standpoint of legal theory. It would be a good choice for a textbook or for ancillary reading for classes relevant to sociolegal issues and social change.... The author has [created] a vast but accessible source of ideas and information on an important sociotechnical topic, and she deserves the profound thanks of anyone who has the good judgment to read her book."
William Sims Bainbridge, National Science Foundation
"An important and very well-documented book, a true reference manual or research tool.... Although the book's contents are strictly contextualized in [the U.S.], the conceptual framework and the type of approach it offers may be of great value for those who want to study the information mechanisms of other states and societies which already have a high level of information technology available."
Michel Thiollent, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
"Every media and communications student ought to be made aware of the profound changes that Braman identifies."
Lee Salter, University of the West of England
"Braman makes the case that the bureaucratic welfare state has a successor: the information state. She uses social theory to help us understand just what this new creature is, offering tutorials on the American Constitution, copyright law, privacy regulation, and multilateral organizations along the way. Change of State frames a vision of a society that threatens to fundamentally dwarf the individual."
Jonathan Zittrain, Professor of Internet Governance and Regulation, University of Oxford, and cofounder, Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Harvard Law School
"Braman makes the case that the bureaucratic welfare state has a successor: the information state. She uses social theory to help us understand just what this new creature is."
Jonathan Zittrain, Harvard Law School/Oxford Internet Institute
"An important reconceptualization of the policy landscape, putting communications and information policy at the center of power and control. Braman's revisionary arguments suggest new directions for research and advocacy in the public interest."
Pat Aufderheide, Professor and Director, Center for Social Media, School of Communication, American University
"Change of State provides an important new reframing of the field of information policy and its key issues. The synthesis of established issues like intellectual property with emerging concerns like borders and identity makes Braman's book a major contribution to contemporary debates. And its clear organization and accessible writing style will make it an indispensable introduction for students and nonspecialists alike."
Leah A. Lievrouw, Department of Information Studies, University of California, Los Angeles
"Change of State provides an important new reframing of the field of information policy and its key issues. The synthesis of established issues like intellectual property with emerging concerns like borders and identity makes Braman's book a major contribution to contemporary debates. And its clear organization and accessible writing style will make it an indispensable introduction for students and nonspecialists alike."
—Leah Lievrouw, University of California, Los Angeles
"An important reconceptualization of the policy landscape, putting communications and information policy at the center of power and control. Braman's revisionary arguments suggest new directions for research and advocacy in the public interest."
—Pat Aufderheide, American University