Is this the new global democracy?

A key theme of this module is the transformative power of the internet: on reputation management, crisis management, and on public affairs. Where once private lobbyists held sway in the corridors of power in democracies around the world through financial clout and personal connections, the internet now hands power back to the people.

Avaaz are an activist group that exists almost entirely in the virtual ether of the internet, spanning international borders and lobbying at the highest levels for global change. At just 5 years old, the organisation claims to be a 'roots up' consulting its tens of thousands of members around the world about issues to campaign on. The organisation targets government policy around the world, whether targeting governments direct about issues within their own countries, or influential outsider governments and international parliaments such as the EU to pressure others.

Issues may concern government policy for their own citizens, such as Uganda's anti-gay laws, or India's ongoing failure to address abuse of women. They also impact on some of the world's largest corporations, targeting companies such as Shell by pressuring the Nigerian government to impose a legitimate $5 billion fine on the oil giant for the 2011 Bonga oil spill when 40,000 barrels of oil leaked into the Atlantic Ocean.

With  'people power' now spanning borders from smartphones, tablets and laptops around the globe through organisations such as Avaaz, governments and corporations may no longer be able to ignore upstart action groups. This is a fundamental shift in power towards the little guys requiring fundamental changes in practice and policy by governments and corporations around the globe.