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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Examines the role of online platforms for effecting political and social change in Egypt in Kuwait
Introduction
Chapter 1: How Should We Understand Online Activism?
Chapter 2: How Should We Study Online Activism?
Chapter 3: The Egyptian Case: The Context, the Issue, and My Findings
Chapter 4: Kuwait: The Issue, the Case, and My Findings
Chapter 5: Comparing the Cases
Chapter 6: Assessing the Campaigns
Chapter 7: Understanding Online Activism
Conclusion: Online Activism in Egypt and Kuwait
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Examines the role of online platforms for effecting political and social change in Egypt in Kuwait
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781784537784
Publisert
2017-03-17
Utgiver
Vendor
I.B. Tauris
Vekt
641 gr
Høyde
216 mm
Bredde
138 mm
Aldersnivå
05, UP
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
416
Forfatter