International Studies Compendium Project

Extract

Comment on this article   In the early days of the Internet revolution, in the early to mid-1990s, pundits predicted that the advent and dramatic growth of electronic commerce (or “e-commerce”) would have a vast impact on economies, governments, and societies. The literature on e-commerce has developed quickly since then, but much of it focuses on a relatively narrow set of technical, business, and legal issues – such as how to “do” it. More research needs to be done on questions of interest to international relations scholars, such as the impact of e-commerce on state sovereignty and the balance of power, the degree to which the complex web of international institutions that have emerged since World War II are adequate for this new mode of transacting, and how the infrastructural and cultural climates generate disparate economic outcomes. Moreover, although the economics and business literature is modestly well populated, it is remarkable how few articles and books have been published on e-commerce (or even on the Internet more generally) by the major international relations journals and presses. We hope that this essay inspires further research. The essay begins with a discussion of the various definitions of e-commerce in the literature. Next, it considers the major intellectual and social dimensions of the study of e-commerce, including questions addressed through the levels ... log in or subscribe to read full text