Social Media in Global Politics Essay Example for Free

Social Media in Global Politics Essay Social Media Becoming the Most Powerful Force in Global Politics? YES: Clay Shirky, from â€Å"The Net Advantage,† Prospect (December 11, 2009) NO: Malcolm Gladwell, from â€Å"Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted,† I would say that social media has become one of the tools in use of global politics but definitely not the most powerful force that leads to change. I am not exactly sure what is the most powerful in ways of global politics, social media has its limits and it can be stopped or manipulated by governments in order to do what they want but at the same time it can be used to trigger a change that has not been seen in a long time in countries that are oppressed or just feel need of change. Let us take for example of the invasion of Ukraine, if something like invasion were to happen to another country we in western world will get the new after few weeks at the most of what is exactly going on in the country, as I remember as soon as Russia started moving we had news on twitter and facebook in an uproar and telling the world to do something and stop it. Of course the initial invasion by the Russians came because there were civil unrest in the country and the Russians military was mobilised in order to prevent anymore civil unrest coming into their country (according to the Russians), the initial civil unrest started its movement through social media at the time. We in the western world who are just ordinary people with no political ties are just trying to make a living when we see these on social media who would you believe? The government who is using civil unrest to invade and say to the rest of the world we are just here to make sure it does not spread or the people who started the rebellion and saying it is because the government have ignored that they are revolting? Either or the situation is happening even with world watching and having an opinion towards the war it is still going on but it does not seem to end. With the tool such as social media we have so much power but in the end it comes down to who has the biggest guns or influence in the area is the one who will be controlling the global politics of that area.