Online activism in the Middle East : political power and authoritarian governments from Egypt to Kuwait / Jon Nordenson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Nordenson, Jon, author.

Series:

Library of modern Middle East studies ; 191.

Library of modern Middle East studies ; 191

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Facebook (Electronic resource)--Political aspects--Egypt.

Facebook (Electronic resource).

Facebook (Electronic resource)--Political aspects--Kuwait.

Internet and activism--Egypt.

Internet and activism.

Internet and activism--Kuwait.

Online social networks--Political aspects--Egypt.

Online social networks.

Online social networks--Political aspects--Kuwait.

Protest movements--Egypt--History--21st century.

Protest movements.

Protest movements--Kuwait--History--21st century.

Revolutions--Middle East.

Revolutions.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiv, 402 pages) : illustrations

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017.

Summary:

"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. This book 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."--Bloomsbury Publishing.

Contents:

Introduction

How should we understand online activism?

How should we study online activism?

The Egyptian case: the context, the issue, and my findings

The Kuwaiti case: the context, the issue, and my findings

Comparing the cases

Assessing the campaigns

Understanding online activism

Online activism in Egypt and Kuwait: conclusions.

Notes:

Compliant with Level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Content is displayed as HTML full text which can easily be resized or read with assistive technology, with mark-up that allows screen readers and keyboard-only users to navigate easily.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 328-389) and index.

ISBN:

9781350987425

1350987425

9781786731265

1786731266

9781786721266

1786721260

OCLC:

1114476970