The Digital Party as a Vehicle for Transformational Political Change in Arab Spring Countries

The Ba'ath Party has dominated the political sphere in Syria since the rule of Hafiz Al-Assad. It prevented any kind of social or political practices or organizational experiences at any level, except under the approval and full scrutiny of the regime. This kind of oppression continued after Bashar Al-Assad took over the presidency in 2000, which in turn played a crucial role in the opposition’s evident inexperience after the 2011 Uprising. Supporters of the Uprising were looking for structured, organized leadership to represent and develop their movement, but the opposition formations, official and nonofficial, proved incapable of fulfilling that role

The Digital Party as a Vehicle for Transformational Political Change in Arab Spring Countries

In “The Digital Party as a Vehicle for Transformational Political Change in Arab Spring Countries: Opportunities forSyria”, Dina Ramadan notes correctly that “instead of assuming their role in modernizing Syrian society, raising awareness, educating citizens and building a common national identity...” Syria’s political parties chose to follow “narrow ethnic or ideological interests, and sometimes foreign agendas”. A viable and convincing alternative to the current status of political misrepresentation is identified by Ramadan: the digital party. The digital party, with “its open, easily accessible, participatory platform allowing for transparent bottom-up policies and decision-makingprocesses” might succeed in reversing the trend of “popular apathy and distrust, and motivate the masses to participate again”