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[email protected] CANBERRA ACT 0200 AUSTRALIA USE OF THESES This copy is supplied for purposes of private study and research only. Passages from the thesis may not be copied or closely paraphrased without the written consent of the author. The Irony of the Information Age: US Power and the Internet in International Relations Madeline Carr May, 2011 A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of The Australian National University Acknowledgements What a journey! It feels amazing to be writing this page. This has been an exercise in patience, perseverance and personal growth and I'm extremely grateful for the lessons I have learned throughout the past few years. Writing a doctoral thesis is challenging on many levels but I also considered it to be an extraordinary privilege. It is a time of reading, thinking and writing which I realize I was very fortunate to be able to indulge in and I have tried to remain very aware of that privilege. I began my PhD candidature with four others - Lacy Davey, Jason Hall, Jae·Jeok Park and Tomohiko Satake. The five of us spent many, many hours together reading one another's work, challenging one another's ideas and supporting one another through the ups and downs of life as a PhD candidate. We established a bond which will last our lifetimes and I count them dearly amongst the wonderful outcomes of this experience.