Wikileaks and Julian Assange, Research Paper Example

The thematic of my presentation will be Julian Assange and the Wikileaks scandal. The purpose of the research project is to examine some of the key issues that are part of this event, such information security and freedom of information, the role of technology such as the Internet in contemporary times, and forms of political resistance to the dominance of the Western and American world.

The introduction of the presentation will provide a brief summary of Assange and the Wikileaks scandal. In the introduction, I will try to articulate a thesis about how Assange demonstrates that technology can be used as a tool of resistance to the dominance of governments. According to the Wikileaks webpage, they view their project as a form of journalism that opposes government wrongdoing by revealing government secrets: “the US Supreme Court ruled that ‘only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government.’ We agree.” (2011) The basic aim of Wikileaks can therefore be said to have a clear political aim, which is to curb or limit government power.

The body of the presentation will begin by explaining how Wikileaks operates. A key resource for this aspect of the research project will be the Wikileaks webpage. I will also provide a biographical account of Julius Assange, an interesting and charismatic figure who has been described by journalists such as Andrew Fowler as “the most dangerous man in the world” (2011) because of the threat he poses to governments. The next step will be to look at why Wikileaks generated controversy with the U.S. government, leading to statements from Vice-President Joe Biden that Assange is a “hi-tech terrorist.” (MacAskill, 2010) This transition allows me to then discuss some of the key political and technological issues surrounding the Wikileaks. The presentation can conclude with an account of the importance of projects such as Wikileaks for the realization of truly democratic ideals. Perhaps at the end, I will make a comparison with the film “V for Vendetta” to underscore this point.

References

Fowler, A. (2011). The Most Dangerous Man in the World. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press.

MacAskill, E. (2010). Julian Assange like a hi-tech terrorist, says Joe Biden. The Guardian Newspaper. 19 December. Accessed at:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/dec/19/assange-high-tech-terrorist-biden

Wikileaks. (2011). About: What is Wikileaks? Wikileaks.org Accessed at: http://wikileaks.org/About.html