2011/07/01 by Philip N. Howard, Muzammil Hussain · 523 citations
Social Sciences · #Authoritarianism #Collective action #Democracy #Democratization #Digital media #Dissent #Guard (computer science) #Law #Media studies #Middle East #Political economy #Political science #Political theory and Gramsci #Politics #Social Media and Politics #Social media #Social movement #Sociology
paper · doi:10.1353/jod.2011.0041
published in Journal of democracy 22(3), 35-48 (Johns Hopkins University Press)
openalex publication_date 2011/07/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Abstract: During the "Arab Spring," young tech savvy activists led uprisings in a dozen countries across North Africa and the Middle East. At first, digital media allowed democratization movements to develop new tactics for catching dictators off guard. Eventually, authoritarian governments worked social media into their own counter-insurgency strategies. What have we learned about the role of digital media in modern protest? Digital media helped to turn individualized, localized, and community-specific dissent into structured movements with a collective consciousness about both shared grievances and opportunities for action.