June 2012

The Alchemy of Revolution: The Role of Social Networks and New Media in the Arab Spring

This brief argues that the Arab Spring might herald the first social revolution of the 21st century. According to the author the struggle for civil and political rights matured within the virtual space-time generated by the Arab media system. The role of technology, however, will remain intrinsically ambivalent and is never neutral. Social networks may contribute to empowering citizens, but the same technology may also be used against them for control and repression. A flourishing multibillion-dollar Western industry of digital weaponry for state surveillance and repression now represents a major threat to democratization in the MENA region and beyond.

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