Role of social media in the arab spring and beyond dr. The arab spring refers to a period of protests beginning on december 18, 2010 in tunisia, which quickly spread to numerous other arab nations and resulted in regime change in tunisia, libya, egypt, and yemen, and repression andor violence in syria, bahrain, sudan, and elsewhere. Social media and politics and the arab spring moment iemed. I hereby declare that the print version of my masters thesis the impact and role of social media networks on arab spring. Jan 24, 2014 whilst some commentators dubbed it the social media revolution and debate has continued about the eff ect of social media on the arab spring, what was undeniable was the plethora of women. This article examines the role of the new media in the arab spring in the middle. Social media was effective in awakening the arab people and giving them the power to fight against repressive regimes in their drive for greater freedom and independence. It does, however, facilitate organization, which was one of a few. Since the first wave of arab spring revolution swept across parts of the middle east and northern africa more than a year ago, it has been increasingly debated whether or how much social media tools played an instrumental role in that. There is also another argument regarding the role of the social media in the arab spring.
Opening closed regimes what was the role of social media during the arab spring. Sabiha gire pangaea journal the role of social media in the arab spring the arab spring was just that, a spring. The imp act of new media on contemporary social movements and challenges for social movement theory victoria carty chapman university abstract th events of arab spring were shocking for those who study soctal movements as longterm dictators were swiftly removed from office and a democratic wave hit the region. Egypt was disconnected from the outside world for days and yet the. The evolution of arab revolutions short video segments documenting the role of youth and the media in the arab spring, april 22, 2011 on al jazeera english. This article addresses the role of social media in the arab spring, specifically focusing on how twitter was used during the egyptian uprising. The third essay explores the role of twitter during the 2011 egypt revolution. Pdf role of social media in the arab spring and beyond sudeep.
Social media played a central role in shaping political debates in the arab spring. Pdf the role of social media in arab spring sema emiroglu. Aljazeera and alarabia were the important television. Combining the approaches of geospatial analysis and nlp allows us to examine in a broader sense different aspects of crowd behaviorarab spring, for example the role of social media in the arab.
The role of social media in the arab spring public. This paper aims to demonstrate why the role of social media in the arab spring cannot be disregarded. According to the 2011 arab social media report, 94% of tunisians get their news from social media tools, as do 88% of. Social media is no longer the domain of the liberal youth, empowering different agendas across the political map. In egypt, protests and strikes began on january 25, 2011. The role of social media in the 2011 egyptian revolution. In light of the arab spring revolutions of early 2011, the internet and its tools of.
Prior to discussing twitter, however, the article situates the topic of social media and sociopolitical change within a larger context. Ultimately, public information supplied by social networking websites has played an important role during modernday activism, specifically as. The arab spring in egypt religious literacy project. The event has triggered the solidarity of at least 8 countries in the.
The role of social media in the arab spring the role of social media in the arab spring the arab spring. Social media really did play an instrumental role in the wave of arab spring revolutions that swept across parts of the middle east and northern africa earlier this year, a new study has found. One of the hallmarks of the arab spring uprisings has been the role of social media in articulating demands of the popular protesters and broadcasting dramatic events as they unfolded, but it is less clear whether social media acted as a catalyst for many of the movements in the region. It argues that although the new media is one of the factors in the social revolution among others such as social and political factors in the region, it nevertheless played a critical role especially in light of the. As a result of their research many academics have come to the conclusion that social media played a critical role in mobilization, empowerment, shaping opinions, and influencing change during the arab spring. In the 2011 arab spring protests, social media networks played an important role in the rapid disintegration of at least two regimes, tunisia and egypt, while also contributing to sociopolitical mobilization in bahrain and syria.
Social media gave people within autocratic states the opportunity to interact with. This article was first crossposted on gr in october 2015. The role of social media in the arab spring pangaea. The role of new media in the arab spring request pdf. The role of social media in political mobilisation. Often referred to as the facebook and twitter revolution, it is thought by many that social media was the main tool for the arab uprising. This paper will discuss the causes of the arab spring and how social media played a role in the middle east before the start of the revolutions in 2011. It began in response to oppressive regimes and a low standard of living, starting with protests in tunisia noueihed, 2011.
It argues that although the new media is one of the factors in the social revolution among others such as social and political factors in the region, it nevertheless played a critical role especially in light of the absence of an open media and a civil society. The impact and role of social media networks on arab. The arab spring showed the potential of young people in the middle east armed with technology. Pdf the year 2010 has seen the rise of west asia with the arab spring phenomena. Al jazeera, social media, and digital journalism 89. Eric holtschke term paper earth science geography geopolitics publish your bachelors or masters thesis, dissertation, term paper or essay. But the past five years have shown that liberty isnt the only. Pdf social media in the arab world before the recent revolutions had been described as marginal, alternative and elitist, and their impact minimal. Role of social media in the arab spring by ami sedghi on.
It argues that although the new media is one of the factors in the social. The role social of media and modern technology in arab spring. Twitter, facebook and youtubes role in arab spring. The goal of this article is to place the role that social media plays in collective action within a more general theoretical structure, using the events of the arab spring as a case study. Social media has played a crucial role in the emergence, organization and dissemination of the. At the same time, i will also show that opinions have not completely changed on the ability of new icts.
Taking power through technology in the arab spring iran. The role of information communication technologies in the. Internet became a major medium for news with the twin tower disaster of 911. Main report over the past century, the world has witnessed waves of democratization sweep into sometimes surprising places. Social media made the arab spring, but couldnt save it.
The role of the internet, in particular social media and networking websites, was seen as being crucial to the success of the protests, a point that is heavily contested though the new yorker, washington post. American university analyze the role of social media in the. The arab spring was caused by a multitude of factors economic, political, social, cultural and religious, but its origins also lay in belief. This article will highlight the shift from traditional activism to digital activism. Explaining the role and the impact of the social media in the. The role played by the arab mass media in the arab spring is recognized by a lot of analysts. Controlled loyalist repressed censored the typology of middle east media systems is always in flux hafez, 2001 the middle east and the internet how does it break down. Politics comes first gadi wolfsfeld 1, elad segev2, and tamir sheafer3 abstract the goal of this article is to place the role that social media plays in collective action within a more general theoretical structure, using the events of the arab spring as a case study. Pdf the role of social media in the arab uprisings past and. Ict and social media had little to do with the underlying sociopolitical and socioeconomic factors behind the.
The last such great wave toppled the berlin wall and brought democracy to formerly communist countries in eastern europe and other. Pdf the role of social media in the arab spring yassine e. In regards to the role social media played in the arab spring, author emily parker says, the internet never causes revolution. Study confirms social medias revolutionary role in arab spring. This report investigates the impact of social media upon social unrest during the arab spring and is designed to test the common hypothesis that facebook, twitter and other social media outlets had a significant impact on the outbreak of protests in the mena region. The arab spring carried the promise that social media and the internet were going to unleash a new wave of positive social change. The role of media during the arab spring with particular focus on libya b. Role of social media in the arab spring by ami sedghi on prezi.
In egypt, protests and strikes began on january 25, 2011 national police day and lasted for 18 days, bringing. An article by the university of washington makes the claim that social media helped spread democratic norms across international borders freelan, duffy et. I will, thus, illustrate how scholars, prior to the arab spring, had underestimated the social media. Often referred to as the facebook and twitter revolution, it is thought by. Particularly the role of social mass media regarding to the course of the arab awakening is discussed, taking particular account to the research. Explaining the role and the impact of the social media in. Social media has certainly played a part in the arab spring revolutions but its impact is often exaggerated on the inside. Feb 25, 2011 social media has certainly played a part in the arab spring revolutions but its impact is often exaggerated on the inside.
The role of social media in the arab uprisings pew. Social media helped spread democratic ideas across international borders. May 20, 2014 in regards to the role social media played in the arab spring, author emily parker says, the internet never causes revolution. This article examines the role of the new media in the arab spring in the middle east and north africa mena region. According to the 2011 arab social media report, 94% of tunisians get their news from social media tools, as do 88% of egyptians. The role of new information and communication technologies. The impact and role of social media networks on arab spring. It argues that although the new media is one of the factors in the social rev. It was a spring forward for many countries in the middle east such as tunisia, egypt, libya, and seventeen others, who fought against their oppressive government regimes to put the power back in the hands of the people. The role of social media in the arab spring has it been as important as commentators have suggested. Uneven impact of social media on political processes.
There are many debates about the role of social media in the arab spring that started in tunisia and spread to other arab countries such as libya, egypt, yemen and syria. The role of media during the arab spring with particular. While the uprising in tunisia led to some improvements in the country from a humanrights perspective, not all of the nations that witnessed such social and political. Taking power through technology in the arab spring. It concerns the us government role in instigating, funding and coordinating the arab spring revolutions. Study confirms social medias revolutionary role in arab. In saying that its role cannot be disregarded, this paper does not argue that social media caused the arab spring but was an essential tool. Jun 01, 2016 malcolm gladwells 2010 article in the new yorker why the revolution will not be tweeted raised debate, especially after the 2011 arab spring revolution and the part social media took in overthrowing a decade of hosni mubaraks dictatorship in egypt. The article presents two broad theoretical principles. Of the four major arab spring protests analyzedtunisia, egypt, libya, and bahrain. Jul 03, 2012 ultimately, public information supplied by social networking websites has played an important role during modernday activism, specifically as it pertains to the arab spring. This article will highlight the shift from traditional activism to digital activism by using the egyptian revolution as a specific. The impact of social media on social unrest in the arab.
872 995 188 340 421 1066 380 1094 1118 435 756 89 931 979 1465 670 1245 685 903 1439 314 436 1319 746 325 26 982 380 892 303 593 859 241 1280 661 1460 106 1391 318 28