Full Description
During the Arab uprisings of early 2011, which saw the overthrow of Zine el-Abadine Ben Ali in Tunisia and Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, the role of digital media and social networking tools was widely reported. This was also recognized by the very authorities fighting against popular pressure for change, and the Egyptian government's attempt to block internet and mobile phone access in January 2011 demonstrated the extent to which it was seen as powerful and potentially subversive tool. What is yet to be examined is the local context that allowed digital media to play this role: Egypt, for example, a history of online activism laid important ground work for the scenes in Tahrir Square. Here, David Faris argues that it was circumstances particular to Egypt, more than the 'spark' from Tunisia, that allowed the revolution to take off: namely blogging and digital activism stretching back into the 1990s, combined with sustained and numerous protest movements and an independent press.
Dissent and Revolution in a Digital Age tracks the rocky path taken by Egyptian bloggers operating in Mubarak's authoritarian regime to illustrate how the state monopoly on information was eroded, making space for dissent and digital activism.
Contents
Chapter 1: Social Media and Authoritarian Politics in Egypt
Chapter 2: A Theory of the Networked Revolt: Social Media Networks, Media Events and Collective Action
Chapter 3: Agenda-Setters: Torture, Rights and Social Media Networks in Egypt
Chapter 4: New Tools, Old Rules: Social Media Networks and Collective Action in Egypt
Chapter 5: (Amplified) Voices for the Voiceless: Social Media Networks, Minorities, and Virtual Counter-Publics
Chapter 6: We Are All Revolutionaries Now: Social Media Networks and the Egyptian Revolution of 2011
Chapter 7: Cascades, Colors, and Contingencies: Social Media Networks and Authoritarianism in Global Perspective
