Role of Communication Technology in the Social Movement of the Arab Spring

1357 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The role of social media in protest movements

In recent Middle Eastern social movements Internet-based communication has crucially aided the potential for mass mobilization and the success of movements. 21st century media technologies (such as Facebook, Twitter, blogging, YouTube, etc.) operate as a semi-public sphere in which people can share dissident attitudes and announce the location of political protests. Internet-based communication therefore plays a dually important role; it acts as an alternative outlet for individual expression, but it also serves as mobilizing tool to broadcast anti-regime demonstrations, programs, and organizations. However, modern communication technology has its limitations and should not be described as an ultimate panacea for social change. Additionally, 21st century media is not entirely unique in its ability to aid political protest. Since the beginning of the 20th century evolving communication technologies have been used by Middle Eastern social movements/political leaders in order to promote policies and ideals. Although this paper will briefly touch on the role of communication technology in the social movements of the Arab Spring, it will mainly focus (both currently and historically) on Iranian social movements.
The Arab Spring, which began in December 2010, has illustrated the value of Internet-based communication in bringing about social change. Political protests leading up to the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 featured a strong use of modern communication technology including cell phones, social media and other Internet-based technology. Although people frequently argue as to whether these technologies were responsible for revolutionary change, the point of this paper is not to attempt to prove the cause of revolution but rather sim...

... middle of paper ...

...m Qom, behind Walls and Veils.” Comparative
Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East 28.2 (2008): pg. 235. Project MUSE.

Rahimi, Babak and Elham Gheytanchi. “Iran’s Reformists and Activists: Internet Exploiters.” Middle East Policy 15.1 (2008): pg. 53-54.

Rahimi, Babak and Elham Gheytanchi. “Iran’s Reformists and Activists: Internet Exploiters.” Middle East Policy 15.1 (2008): pg. 56.

Shakshari, Sima. “From Homoerotics Of Exile To Homopolitics Of Diaspora.” Journal Of Middle East Women’s Studies 8.3 (2012): pg. 20.

Afshari, Ali and H. Graham Underwood. “The Green Wave.” The Journal of Democracy 20.4
(2009): pg. 7.

Fathi, Nazila. "In a Death Seen Around the World, a Symbol of Iranian Protests." nytimes.com. The New York Times, 23 June 2009. Web.

Boroumand, Ladan. “The Role Of Ideology.” The Journal of Democracy 16.4 (2005): pg.59-60.

Show More
Related

  • Al-Jabarti's and His Chronicle of the French Occupation 1798

    605 Words  | 2 Pages

    Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. No. 3 (1965): 524-540. http://www.jstor.org/stable/612097 (accessed December 1, 2013).

    Read More

  • Black Lives Matter Summary

    1028 Words  | 3 Pages

    The issues of how technology is influencing our nation today has come into play with social media and surveillance in our personal lives. We use twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. to express our opinions on things and as a voice to inform people on what’s going on in today’s society. We have learned how to use the tools we’ve been given to change our lives forever; our government has access to all of our personal information in exchange for our protection against terrorism. In Bijan Stephen’s article on “Black Lives Matter” and Rebecca McKinnon’s chapter on “the Arab Spring”, they both touch on the power of technology in negative and positive ways.

    Read More

  • Spring Awakening Analysis

    503 Words  | 2 Pages

    The article named “spring awakening” wrote by Jose Vargas describes the impact of social media in converting the mentality of young Egyptian generations into bold and defend their inalienable rights as a citizen. This article justifies how social media can mobilize a tremendous number of people to stand up for their rights. The reasons that inspire my emotion is emerging of “Wael Ghonim” as a legendary vocal figure of action for change, revelation of social media as earthquake for change, and fundamental soci-political change.

    Read More

  • Malcolm Gladwell, Small Change: Why the Revolution Will not be Tweeted

    1494 Words  | 3 Pages

    Malcolm Gladwell’s article "Small Change: Why the Revolution Will not be Tweeted" raises a significant question about the prospective contribution of web-based social networking to the advent of progressive social movement and change. Gladwell bold declaration that "the revolution will not be tweeted" is reflective of his view that social media has no useful application in serious activism. Contrasting various elements of the “high-stakes” lunch-counter protests in Greensboro, North Carolina in the 1960’s with the “low-stakes” activism achieved through social media, Gladwell concludes that effective social movements powerful enough to impose change on longstanding societal forces require both “strong ties” among participants and the presence of a hierarchical organizations. In contrast, Gladwell characterizes the social networks as an interwoven web of "weak ties" that is inherently devoid of a hierarchy. Gladwell’s prerequisites for social movement are firmly based in strong body of sociological evidence, but his views regarding the nature of online social networks are laughably lacking in foresight and obstructed by a misleadingly selective body of evidence.

    Read More

  • Censorship In Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis

    679 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Iranian government is fighting a losing battle against a rapidly growing Western force. Although Iran is not physically waging war against the United States, the government is fighting to eradicate its increasing cultural influence in Iran. The young, Iranian population is currently speaking out against the Islamic Republic’s attempts to rid the country of Western culture, demanding more freedom and less censorship, similar to how Marjane Satrapi acts out against the regime in Persepolis.

    Read More

  • The Kurdish and the Palestinian Cases of Struggle

    1628 Words  | 4 Pages

    Khanam, R. (2005). Encyclopaedic Ethnography of Middle-East and Central Asia. A-I, V. 1. Global Vision Publishing House. p. 470.

    Read More

  • Why and How Women Are Oppressed in Saudi Arabia

    2088 Words  | 5 Pages

    Zuhur, Sherifa. Saudi Arabia. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO, 2011. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 8 Nov. 2013.

    Read More

  • Marshall Mcluhan's The Medium Is The Massage

    1474 Words  | 3 Pages

    However, books and newspapers are not our sole source of the written word. Online blogs, articles, and newsletters now exist. Television and books have merged into one: the Internet. Revolutions, riots, and rebellions don’t just happen in our living rooms now, they happen on the go with us. On the subway, when we’re waiting in line at Subway, at our friend’s house as he talks about how he’s “way into subs.”

    Read More

  • The Life and Death of Pan-Arabism Ideology

    2879 Words  | 6 Pages

    Hourani, Albert. A History of the Arab Peoples. Cambridge, MA: Belknap of Harvard UP, 1991. Print.

    Read More

  • The Rise of Islamic Fundamentalism in Iran

    1517 Words  | 4 Pages

    Over the course of the last century, the Islamic Republic of Iran (formerly known as Persia) has seen colonialism, the end of a dynasty, the installation of a government by a foreign power, and just over three decades ago, the popular uprising and a cleric-led revolution. These events preceded what could be considered the world’s first Islamic state, as politics and fundamentalist religion are inextricably linked in contemporary Iran. Looking at Iran from the mid 1940’s until the present day, one can trace the path that led to the rise of fundamental Islam in Iran in three distinct periods. The first is that which began with the rise of secular nationalism and the decline of Islam. In the second, the secular, western-friendly government eventually gave way to the Islamic revival in the form of a government takeover by hard-line clerics and disillusioned, fundamentalist youth; both motivated and led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Rule of Iran by these fundamentalist clerics then led to the formation of the fundamentalist Islamic theocracy that governs present-day Iran. The current government has some democratic appearances, but all real power is in the hands of the supreme leader, an Ayatollah who is chosen by the Assembly of Experts, a group of clerics chosen by the Guardian Council. With the Iranian Revolution, political Islam was born, with the fundamentalists holding the reins of power in Iran to the present day.

    Read More

  • Why was the Arab World Poised for Revolution?

    1043 Words  | 3 Pages

    The authoritarian regimes of the Middles cycled through a pattern of anti-western policy until the globalization effects of economics and information demanded reform. As conservative Arab states try to maintain the autocracy they relied on after gaining independence, their citizens, affected by information and education expansion, challenge their resistant governments as typified by Syria’s unwillingness to capitulate. The proliferation of information and education underscored the protest movements of the Arab Spring because citizens’ contempt for their obstinate governments grew to large under economic pressures, as the current situation in Syria demonstrates.

    Read More

  • The Iranian Revolution and the Russian Revolution

    1667 Words  | 4 Pages

    Ludwig, P. (1999). Iranian Nation and Islamic Revolutionary Ideology. Die Welt des islams. 39(2). 183-217.

    Read More

  • Syria and the Arab Spring

    1606 Words  | 4 Pages

    Gerner, Deborah J., and Philip A. Schrodt. "Middle Eastern Politics." Understanding the contemporary Middle East. 3rd ed. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2008. 85 -136. Print.

    Read More

  • The Arab Ba'ath Movement and The Rise of the Baath Party in Syria

    1663 Words  | 4 Pages

    Gerner, Deborah J., and Philip A. Schrodt. "Middle Eastern Politics." Understanding the Contemporary Middle East. 3rd ed. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2008. 85 -136. Print.

    Read More

  • Role of the Social Media in Social Movements

    3253 Words  | 7 Pages

    Safranek, Rita. 2012. The Emerging Role of Social Media in Political and Regime Change. s.l. : Proquest, 2012.

    Read More

More about Role of Communication Technology in the Social Movement of the Arab Spring

Open Document