The Impact of Social Media on the Arab Spring: A Comprehensive Case Study

Abstract

In Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, and Yemen, social media platforms have facilitated communication among activists, and this has entirely changed the landscape of political engagement. It is often contended that the pervasive role of platforms like Facebook and Twitter in the region was integral to the mobilization of the anti-regime protests and rebellion. As a result, the emerging consensus has been that the rise of social media contributed to both the escalation of contentious politics and the dissemination of political information from various sources. Given that the size of the datasets and the nature of the analysis conducted thus far have been limited, more in-depth comprehension of the effectiveness of social media in different unrests in the Arab region is still needed. Therefore, a comprehensive case study is presented here that offers a systematic exploration of the linkages between the Arab Spring and evolving cyberactivism.

The new wave of protests since December 2010 has also captured global attention and several responses have been taken by world actors, including international organizations. The global repercussions of events in the Arab region are also manifested in similar waves of demonstrations in other world regions, such as movements in North America, the Anti-Austerity Movement in the EU, demonstrations in Thailand, popular protests in Turkey and Brazil, and movements in Hong Kong. Despite Near East geopolitical importance, scholarly attention has not been paid until recently to the political consequences associated with cyberactivism. The existing literature has mostly focused on the political dynamics in just one geographic context. However, given the tangled nature of events and the extent to which the career of social media activism is intertwined among dissidents, new political players, governments, and transnational activists, it is essential to widen the geographic lens when investigating the interaction between social media and political movements either in authoritarian settings. To provide guidance for scholars interested in this line of research, a brief description of key terms is provided.

Keywords: social media, Arab Spring, political engagement, cyberactivism, protests, Tunisia, Egypt, contentious politics