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HOW AZERBAIJAN DEMONIZES THE INTERNET TO KEEP CITIZENS OFFLINE
By Sarah Kendzior and Katy Pearce
http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2012/05/11/azerbaijan_eurovision_son
Friday, May 11, 2012, at 3:10 PM ET
Photo by SAMIR ALIYEV/AFP/Getty Images
On May 22, the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan will play host
to the Eurovision Song Contest, an annual competition between singers
from countries in Europe and parts of the former Soviet Union. Though
little known in the United States, Eurovision is the most popular
non-sporting event in the world and will be watched by hundreds
of millions-many of whom will be seeing Azerbaijan, a small Muslim
petrostate bordering Iran and Russia, for the first time.
Azerbaijan's government has spent more than $700 million on promotion
and infrastructure in order to put its best image forward.
But as the world discovers Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani government is
doing its best to keep its citizens from connecting with the world.
Over the past few years, the Azerbaijani government has waged an
aggressive media campaign against the Internet. Social media has
become synonymous with deviance, criminality, and treason. Television
programs show '~Qfamily tragedies'~R and '~Qcriminal incidents'~R
after young people join Facebook and Twitter. In March 2011, the
country's chief psychiatrist proclaimed that social media users
suffer mental disorders and cannot maintain relationships. In April
2012, the Interior Ministry linked Facebook use with trafficking of
woman and sexual abuse of children. Since May 2011, the Azerbaijani
parliament has been debating laws to curtail social media, citing
the deleterious effect on society. Social media has become a vital
political issue despite the fact that 78 percent of Azerbaijanis have
never used the Internet, only 7 percent go online daily, and just 7
percent-almost all male, highly educated, and wealthy-use Facebook.
Azerbaijan has a long history of media censorship. During the Soviet
era, media were state-controlled, and dissidents faced harsh penalties
for publishing political works. Little changed when Azerbaijan became
independent in 1991. Almost all media outlets are owned or controlled
by the state. The few opposition journalists face harassment, physical
violence, imprisonment, and even death.
Most authoritarian states treat the Internet the same way they do
print media: They censor it. Azerbaijan has taken a more insidious
route. They do not heavily filter or block the Internet but instead
leave it open, allowing the government to better monitor and punish
rebellious activities. In 2010, two online activists were arrested
for posting a video satirizing government waste on YouTube. Their case
was never mentioned in Azerbaijan's print media-but was relentlessly
showcased online, where it frightened the bloggers' peers. As a
result, Azerbaijan's frequent Internet users became less supportive
of activism, and online dissent has quieted.
This strategy worked quite well with elites. But after the events in
Tunisia and Egypt in early 2011, the Azerbaijani government decided
to adopt a more aggressive strategy to shield regular citizens from
discussions of dissent or collective action. Azerbaijan has moved
from intimidating users who are already online to keeping the rest
of the nation offline by making social media use seem like a form of
bad citizenship.
To see how successful Azerbaijan's anti-social media campaign has been,
one need only to compare Azerbaijan to its poorer, yet more democratic,
neighboring post-Soviet states Georgia and Armenia.
Azerbaijan trails far behind in Internet use despite the fact that
the cost of an Internet connection and a computer is roughly the same
in all three countries. In Armenia and Georgia, 20 percent use the
Internet daily, but in Azerbaijan, it is only 7 percent. In Armenia
and Georgia, 40 percent and 33 percent of households have computers,
but in Azerbaijan, only 15 percent have them. In Armenia and Georgia,
35 percent and 29 percent of households have Internet at home, while
only 11 percent of Azerbaijani households do.
The framing of the Internet as a dangerous place has made men hesitant
to allow their wives and daughters access. As a result, only 14
percent of Azerbaijani women have ever used the Internet. More than
70 percent of Internet users, as well as Facebook users, are men. The
women who are online are often constrained: It is not uncommon for
young brides to give their Facebook passwords to their husbands for
monitoring. Women worry about maintaining their and their families'
honor online and offline and tend to prefer to not engage in discussion
forums.
Azerbaijanis are proud that their country is hosting Eurovision. The
competition symbolizes that Azerbaijan is not a second class country
but a player on the world stage. But as the world spotlight shines on
Azerbaijan, citizens find themselves increasingly in the dark-and not
only in terms of the internet. On May 1 of this year, the government
banned foreign television broadcasting , as "foreign television series
often contradict our mentality" and may expose Azerbaijanis to new
ideas. Decades of exposure to foreign television and film is now
ending. The potential of the Internet as a place to learn, explore,
create, and communicate is unfulfilled-instead, it is yet another
thing citizens are told to fear.
From: Baghdasarian
By Sarah Kendzior and Katy Pearce
http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2012/05/11/azerbaijan_eurovision_son
Friday, May 11, 2012, at 3:10 PM ET
Photo by SAMIR ALIYEV/AFP/Getty Images
On May 22, the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan will play host
to the Eurovision Song Contest, an annual competition between singers
from countries in Europe and parts of the former Soviet Union. Though
little known in the United States, Eurovision is the most popular
non-sporting event in the world and will be watched by hundreds
of millions-many of whom will be seeing Azerbaijan, a small Muslim
petrostate bordering Iran and Russia, for the first time.
Azerbaijan's government has spent more than $700 million on promotion
and infrastructure in order to put its best image forward.
But as the world discovers Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani government is
doing its best to keep its citizens from connecting with the world.
Over the past few years, the Azerbaijani government has waged an
aggressive media campaign against the Internet. Social media has
become synonymous with deviance, criminality, and treason. Television
programs show '~Qfamily tragedies'~R and '~Qcriminal incidents'~R
after young people join Facebook and Twitter. In March 2011, the
country's chief psychiatrist proclaimed that social media users
suffer mental disorders and cannot maintain relationships. In April
2012, the Interior Ministry linked Facebook use with trafficking of
woman and sexual abuse of children. Since May 2011, the Azerbaijani
parliament has been debating laws to curtail social media, citing
the deleterious effect on society. Social media has become a vital
political issue despite the fact that 78 percent of Azerbaijanis have
never used the Internet, only 7 percent go online daily, and just 7
percent-almost all male, highly educated, and wealthy-use Facebook.
Azerbaijan has a long history of media censorship. During the Soviet
era, media were state-controlled, and dissidents faced harsh penalties
for publishing political works. Little changed when Azerbaijan became
independent in 1991. Almost all media outlets are owned or controlled
by the state. The few opposition journalists face harassment, physical
violence, imprisonment, and even death.
Most authoritarian states treat the Internet the same way they do
print media: They censor it. Azerbaijan has taken a more insidious
route. They do not heavily filter or block the Internet but instead
leave it open, allowing the government to better monitor and punish
rebellious activities. In 2010, two online activists were arrested
for posting a video satirizing government waste on YouTube. Their case
was never mentioned in Azerbaijan's print media-but was relentlessly
showcased online, where it frightened the bloggers' peers. As a
result, Azerbaijan's frequent Internet users became less supportive
of activism, and online dissent has quieted.
This strategy worked quite well with elites. But after the events in
Tunisia and Egypt in early 2011, the Azerbaijani government decided
to adopt a more aggressive strategy to shield regular citizens from
discussions of dissent or collective action. Azerbaijan has moved
from intimidating users who are already online to keeping the rest
of the nation offline by making social media use seem like a form of
bad citizenship.
To see how successful Azerbaijan's anti-social media campaign has been,
one need only to compare Azerbaijan to its poorer, yet more democratic,
neighboring post-Soviet states Georgia and Armenia.
Azerbaijan trails far behind in Internet use despite the fact that
the cost of an Internet connection and a computer is roughly the same
in all three countries. In Armenia and Georgia, 20 percent use the
Internet daily, but in Azerbaijan, it is only 7 percent. In Armenia
and Georgia, 40 percent and 33 percent of households have computers,
but in Azerbaijan, only 15 percent have them. In Armenia and Georgia,
35 percent and 29 percent of households have Internet at home, while
only 11 percent of Azerbaijani households do.
The framing of the Internet as a dangerous place has made men hesitant
to allow their wives and daughters access. As a result, only 14
percent of Azerbaijani women have ever used the Internet. More than
70 percent of Internet users, as well as Facebook users, are men. The
women who are online are often constrained: It is not uncommon for
young brides to give their Facebook passwords to their husbands for
monitoring. Women worry about maintaining their and their families'
honor online and offline and tend to prefer to not engage in discussion
forums.
Azerbaijanis are proud that their country is hosting Eurovision. The
competition symbolizes that Azerbaijan is not a second class country
but a player on the world stage. But as the world spotlight shines on
Azerbaijan, citizens find themselves increasingly in the dark-and not
only in terms of the internet. On May 1 of this year, the government
banned foreign television broadcasting , as "foreign television series
often contradict our mentality" and may expose Azerbaijanis to new
ideas. Decades of exposure to foreign television and film is now
ending. The potential of the Internet as a place to learn, explore,
create, and communicate is unfulfilled-instead, it is yet another
thing citizens are told to fear.
From: Baghdasarian