Vol. 6, Iss. 1, 2012

Complete issue as PDF

The Net Worth of the Arab Spring

10 May 2012

The Net Worth of the Arab Spring
Ines Braune Editorial When I was asked to be the guest editor of the current issue of CyberOrient, I realized this is a welcome opportunity to arrange and re-sort some aspects, points, and arguments about the role of the media during the Arab Spring. In the course of the events late in 2010 and early in 2011, I felt enthusiastic and overwhelmed - not primarily as a scholar…

Editorial

Political Activism 2.0: Comparing the Role of Social Media in Egypt’s “Facebook Revolution” and Iran’s “Twitter Uprising”

10 May 2012

Political Activism 2.0: Comparing the Role of Social Media in Egypt’s “Facebook Revolution” and Iran’s “Twitter Uprising”
Mohammed El-Nawawy, Sahar Khamis Article Social media, particularly blogging, Facebook and Twitter, have played a key role in instigating, accelerating and even organizing some of the uprisings and revolutions that have been taking place all over the Middle East. This role has been effective in galvanizing the youth and empowering them in their fights against repressive regimes and their plight for more freedom and independence. This study looks into the…

Article

Al Jazeera’s Framing of Social Media During the Arab Spring

10 May 2012

Al Jazeera’s Framing of Social Media During the Arab Spring
Heidi A. Campbell, Diana Hawk Article This study investigates how Al Jazeera framed social media in relation to the revolutions and protests of the “Arab Spring” within its broadcast media coverage. A content analysis of Arabic language broadcasts appearing from January 25th through February 18th 2011, covering the protests in Tahrir Square, was conducted using the Broadcast Monitoring System (BMS) and Arab Spring Archive. Through this analysis we see a number…

Article

Remixing the Spring!: Connective leadership and read-write practices in the 2011 Arab uprisings

10 May 2012

Remixing the Spring!: Connective leadership and read-write practices in the 2011 Arab uprisings
Donatella Della Ratta, Augusto Valeriani Article This article discusses the connections between the unfolding of the 2011 Arab uprisings and the “culture of the net”. Being far from overestimating the role that Internet has played in the uprisings, we propose to look at it not as an ensemble of tools, applications and technologies; but as a specific set of values, behaviors, skills and strategies that define the cultural dimension of the…

Article

Beyond the Soapbox: Facebook and the Public Sphere in Egypt

10 May 2012

Beyond the Soapbox: Facebook and the Public Sphere in Egypt
Anton Root Article The question of the internet as a forum for political debate is continuously contested. My research grows out of such scholarship but focuses specifically on Facebook as a virtual public sphere in Egypt. Based on an analysis of a note posted by Wael Ghonim during the January 25 uprising on the Facebook group ‘We are all Khaled Said,’ I discuss the structural and technological benefits…

Article

Egyptian uprising: Redefining Egyptian political community and reclaiming the public space

10 May 2012

Egyptian uprising: Redefining Egyptian political community and reclaiming the public space
Mervat Youssef, Anup Kumar Comment The purpose of this paper is to understand and explain the emergence of a public sphere and the articulation of a new Egyptian identity. We argue that the Egyptian revolution, catalyzed by the social media, was possible because the young men and women succeeded in reclaiming the public space from the apparatuses of the post-colonial state. There was a contest between the protesters and the…

Comment

Review: The Digital Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Information Technology and Political Islam

10 May 2012

Review: The Digital Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Information Technology and Political Islam
Jon W. Anderson Book Review Howard's book The Digital Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy focuses on the relation between ITCs and civil society and democracy in the Muslim world. It assembled a database of indicators (for Internet availability, access, policy, ownership, structures and uses) cross-referenced to common standard measures of democratization and development for 75 countries with substantial Muslim populations.

Book Review

Review: The Arab Revolution: The Lessons from the Democratic Uprising

10 May 2012

Review: The Arab Revolution: The Lessons from the Democratic Uprising
Marek Cejka Book Review Filiu's book The Arab Revolution: The Lessons from the Democratic Uprising provides an overview of the context of the indirect circumstances of the Arab Spring and also takes into account the related sociological and psychological factors, which makes the book more interdisciplinary. It focuses on events in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya but also covers other parts of the MENA region.

Book Review