Leaking Superpower: WikiLeaks and the contradictions of democracy

Jan Pieterse

Third World Quarterly, 2012, vol. 33, issue 10, 1909-1924

Abstract: While US government agencies endorse and support the democratic potential of the internet and social media overseas, the criticisms of the WikiLeaks disclosures of US diplomatic cables reveal the bias in relation to transparency and democracy. This poses a wider problem of connectivity combined with hegemony. This paper discusses what the criticisms of the WikiLeaks disclosures reveal. After discussing the enthusiasm about ‘hyper-connectivity’, the paper turns to the WikiLeaks disclosures, and next spells out global ramifications of the leaked cables, the problems of transparency and hegemony, frictions between democracy and democratisation, and the role of banks blocking donations to WikiLeaks.

Date: 2012
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DOI: 10.1080/01436597.2012.728324

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