Does the internet facilitate social and political change, or even
democratization, in the Middle East? Despite existing research on this
subject, there is still no consensus on the importance of social media
and online platforms, or on how we are to understand their influence.
This book provides empirical analysis of the day-to-day use of online
platforms by activists in Egypt and Kuwait. The research evaluates the
importance of online platforms for effecting change and establishes a
specific framework for doing so. Egypt and Kuwait were chosen because,
since the mid-2000s, they have been the most prominent Arab countries
in terms of online and offline activism. In the context of Kuwait, Jon
Nordenson examines the oppositional youth groups who fought for a
constitutional, democratic monarchy in the emirate. In Egypt, focus
surrounds the groups and organizations working against sexual violence
and sexual harassment. Online Activism in the Middle East shows how
and why online platforms are used by activists and identifies the
crucial features of successful online campaigns. Egypt and Kuwait are
revealed to be authoritarian contexts but where the challenges and
possibilities faced by activists are quite different. The comparative
nature of this research therefore exposes the context-specific usage
of online platforms, separating this from the more general features of
online activism. Nordenson demonstrates the power of online activism
to create an essential 'counterpublic' that can challenge an
authoritarian state and enable excluded groups to fight in ways that
are far more difficult to suppress than a demonstration.
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781786721266
Publisert
2017
Utgave
1. utgave
Utgiver
Vendor
I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter