Democracy’s Fourth Wave? Digital Media and the Arab Spring

Did digital media really "cause" the Arab Spring, or is it an important factor of the story behind what might become democracy's fourth wave? An unlikely network of citizens used digital media to start a cascade of social protest that ultimately toppled four of the world's most entrenched dictators. Howard and Hussain find that the complex causal recipe includes several economic, political and cultural factors, but that digital media is consistently one of the most important sufficient and necessary conditions for explaining both the fragility of regimes and the success of social movements. This book looks at not only the unexpected evolution of events during the Arab Spring, but the deeper history of creative digital activism throughout the region.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/117564/1/Democracy's Fourth Wave.pdfDescription of Democracy's Fourth Wave.pdf : PD

Arab 2.0 revolutions : investigating social media networks during waves of the Egyptian political uprisings that occur between 2011, 2012 and 2013

Social media networks were at the centre of the dramatic events in 2011 events widely referred to as ‘the Arab Spring’ uprising or revolution. This thesis investigates the role of social media networks (such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube) in facilitating political mobilisation and the creation of a new Arab public sphere. The thesis asks whether the Arab Spring revolutions would have even happened in the absence of social media networks. The analysis will focus specifically on Egypt and how these networks acted as a catalyst and tool for mobilisation and how they shifted the balance of power between civilian activists and the authoritarian regime in the uprisings that occurred in 2011, 2012 and 2013. The primary research data reveals that social media networks have gone through four distinct phases: outrage and hope, instability and distrust, disinformation and criticism, and antagonism and hate. As these phases have been enacted during the three waves of social unrest in Egypt, networks have become a key player in generating and shifting power. This thesis draws on network theories of communication such as ‘the strength of weak ties’ (Granovetter 1973) and ‘communication power’ (Castells 2009). Castells proposes that social networks can be sites of ‘outrage and hope’ (2012) but in this thesis I argue that social media has developed into ‘networks of antagonism and hate’. This argument is made after an empirical analysis of the Facebook data sets of the liberals and Islamists which shows they have become sites of clashing ideologies. This thesis will also highlight the role other media played in the uprisings, such as Arab satellite channels such as Aljazeera, Hacktivists groups such as Anonymous and Telecomix and the whistle-blower website, WikiLeaks. The primary analysis of Facebook data sets identifies complex power dynamic between Islamists and liberals, who have both played dominant roles in the battle over information dissemination in their attempts to control society

The Weeks When Decades Happened: A Theoretical Consideration of the 2011 Egyptian Uprising

In 2011, the Middle East was plunged into turmoil with a series of popular uprisings ousting a number of long standing dictators. Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s 30 year reign was toppled in just over two weeks. This thesis takes a theoretical approach to the Egyptian Revolution, assessing the extent to which the Egyptian case lends support to various theories which consider transitions away from authoritarianism and towards democracy, and the extent to which these theories can assist us in understanding why democracy has not resulted in Egypt. There are a number of strands of theoretical work which consider both transitions away from authoritarianism and towards democracy, and the factors influencing the timing and mode of transition. These include structural theories related to economic modernisation, inequality and crisis; those related to the role of elites and civil society in influencing transitions, whether from above or below; ideas surrounding the diffusion of, and international influences on, democratisation; and arguments considering the role of religion and culture. This thesis argues that theories of authoritarian breakdown garner more support from the Egyptian case than theories of democratisation. Ideas related to the diffusion of contentious politics and international influences on transition, as well as the role of both elites and civil society, garner support from the Egyptian case. Structural theories related to economic conditions, and the role of religion and culture, garner less support from events in Egypt

A Multi-Disciplinary Analysis of Web 2.0 Technology use in Egypt & China, 2005-2010

Taking a cue from scholars\u27 suggestions to focus on the intersections of various fields of study, this research aims to find the commonalities among representative theories of democracy, mass media and social movements. Assessment of each reveals that all three areas of study encompass space for the interface of the media and the public. The confluence of these elements, when paired with Information and Communication-based technologies, yields what is introduced here as the Integrative Conceptual Model of Internet Analysis. Using this model gives way to a focus on Internet-mediated scenarios through a framework that evaluates the type of agent interaction, network formation, agents\u27 dialogue and the incident\u27s outcome. This is applied to three incidents in both the People\u27s Republic of China and Egypt from 2005 to 2010. The interplay between media and citizens is explained through overarching messages and interactions that may undergird the networks that mobilize collective action

French Republicanism: A Comparative Analysis of the French Military Interventions in Libya in 2011 and in Syria in 2013

Using Ruth Wodak’s Discourse-Historical Approach (DHA) of Critical Discourse Analysis, this thesis examines the ways in which French Republican ideas were synthesised with arguments relating to the Responsibility to Protect Doctrine in 2011 and 2013 to justify military intervention and international cooperation. Firstly, Nicolas Sarkozy had learned his lesson with Tunisia that the Arab Spring was more than just a minor wave of protests. Therefore, when the uprising began in Libya, Sarkozy relied on the Republican ideas of the universality of Liberty, Equality, and Human Rights. This was pitched perfectly to justify a military intervention along the lines of the Responsibility to Protect Doctrine, co-opting the support of the United States and the United Kingdom into the mission, as well as gaining the tacit approval of Russia. However Hollande, when approaching a similar situation in Syria, relied on a different side of the Republican ethos. In seeking to “punish” Syria rather than protect its citizens, Hollande fell succumbed to the more paternalistic trappings of French Republicanism, indulging in a more naked display of grandeur, designating France as a gendarme of the world. Ultimately, this was an inappropriate tactic to adopt. Hollande’s administration would antagonise Russia and misread the American intentions. This would lead to further embarrassment when events overtook President Hollande, and the United States and Russia organised their own agreement to deal with Syria’s chemical weapons

Democratisation Progress in Turkey Under the Justice and Development Party 2002 to 2014

This thesis examines the democratisation progress of Turkey during the period 2002 to 2014, a period in which the Justice and Development Party (the ‘JDP’) held continuous national office, in order to answer its central research question: How and to what extent has the JDP contributed to democratisation in Turkey? The JDP case illustrates the complexity of applying the democratisation concept in real human affairs. Since its foundation in 1923, the Republic of Turkey has seen democratisation as a necessary adjunct of a modernisation that the founders of the republic considered vital to maintain the Turkish nation and the republic’s territorial integrity after the Ottoman collapse. The new republic by its nature is secular albeit a superstructure to an Islamic foundation centuries old that remains vibrant. Since its inception, Turkey’s democratic journey has suffered set-backs due to tensions between the secular state and domestic political Islam. The Turkish state through its constitutional framework and its historic military tutelage has attempted to hold down political Islam. Around 2000, the Turkish state and domestic political Islam were in stalemate; the latter was contained but persistent. The JDP emerged out of political parties some of which had previously been Islamic in nature. The new party’s leaders publicly rejected its political roots and pledged to enhance Turkey’s democratic journey as a new way of resolving those tensions. What I have been looking for in my research are quantum advances in Turkey’s democratisation momentum under the JDP, advances not only insulating Turkey from recidivism but confirming the JDP’s democratisation credentials. I have used ‘liberal democracy’ as my yardstick to identify and assess these advances. Domestic events in Turkey in 2013 and 2014 sorely tested the latter. During my research, I have used the qualitative research method and operated on the societal/national level of analysis. I worked with academic books and articles, and researched primary documents. I also interviewed political actors, academics and journalists. My findings were mixed in terms of the JDP’s enhancements to Turkey’s democratisation, reflecting a challenging environment for the JDP after 2012, when electoral hubris and domestic events stymied the party’s democratisation momentum. However, I argue that key building blocks to secure a sustainable democratisation process were put in place by the JDP in its early years in office. Further, the party has flourished electorally since 2002, a testament to its skill at managing tensions. I have concluded that the JDP, notwithstanding challenges to its democratic credentials, has made significant contributions to democratic progress in Turkey by locking in fundamental reforms that will embed democratisation in Turkey

Revitalizing missions on the cusp of change : complex systems science mazeways for mission theory amid twenty-first century realities

https://place.asburyseminary.edu/ecommonsatsdissertations/1909/thumbnail.jp

Movements and Political Parties in the 21st Century: Exploring the Role of ICTs, Human Development, and Political-Activism Culture in East Asia and Latin America

The dynamics between social movements and political parties are shifting in the 21st century. Due to the emergence of information communication technologies (ICTs), political parties are facing increased pressure to use ICTs to co-exist, complement, and nurture social movements and empowered civic communities (Nahon, 2015). However, this shift is not ahistorical and technologically deterministic. Rather, the shifting relationship between social movements and political parties is one that can be shaped by a variety of demographic and socio-economic factors as well as preexisting cultures of resistance, activism, and electoral campaigning. This research examines potential patterns and casual mechanisms which can help explain how ICTs enable new political opportunities which can shift relations between movements and political parties in emerging democracies. Specifically, the case studies reveal that history matters and that contextual factors such as successive student movements and a country’s human development, particularly education, can help us understand the changing relationship between social movements and political parties

Human-Machinic Assemblages: Technologies, Bodies, and the Recuperation of Social Reproduction in the Crisis Era

This dissertation argues that class composition, as defined and theorised by Operaismo and Autonomist thinkers, has had both a major and a minoritarian form. In fact class composition in its major form has always been subtended by a minor current. I examine both historical (the 1905 Russian Soviets, the 1919 Turin factory councils, the Italian social movements of the 1970s) and contemporary examples (the occupation of Tahrir Square in Egypt, the Indignados movement in Spain, and Occupy Wall Street in 2011, as well as the 2012 Quebec student strike) of class composition. From these examples I then argue that the minor current of class composition is rooted in social reproduction – both its crisis and its recuperation. And further that this minor current expands throughout history, growing to command greater attention within social and labour movements. Further, this dissertation argues that contemporary social movements appear today as an assemblage, a human-machinic assemblage, which enact social reproduction in crisis and recuperation through both embodied and technologized forms. I demonstrate the ways in which technologies of communication are implicated in forms of securitised and commodified social reproduction, but also open up new and powerful possibilities for autonomous and liberatory social reproduction. This dissertation relies on a merger of conceptual, theoretical, and field research and benefits from the author’s direct involvement in social and political struggles