In the past several years personal media and social networking has gone from almost non-existent to seemingly inescapable. Everywhere we look we are surrounded by Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and other social networks. People used to ask, “Do you have a Facebook?” Now it’s become more of a statement: “just Facebook me.” Not only has this social media outburst shaped our personal lives, but it has now begun to shape global politics as well. Johanne Kuebler’s article Overcoming the Digital Divide: The Internet and Political Mobilization in Egypt and Tunisia delves into the how and why political activism has been sparked by technology and social networking.
Kuebler’s thesis was that “the use of internet tools for political protest in the summer of 2009 in Iran, the so-called ‘Twitter Revolution,’ appears to have conceded a point to internet enthusiasts, who praise the internet as a space of unlimited freedom and a venue for the organization of political actions” (Kuebler). The author attempted to study the ways in which the internet has affected political protest in Egypt and Tunisia, both countries that are under authoritarian dictatorship.
It is known by many that Facebook, Twitter, and other blogs recently played a huge role in the protests that took place in Egypt and Tunisia. However, what is not known are the specifics about exactly how these social networks aided the anti-government protests. Dr. Kuebler sought to find out exactly how much having access to the internet alone generates “political activism” and what cultural, political, and social aspects aid/hinder this ‘activism.’ Kuebler wrote this article to show just how much ‘technology’ and the internet shape global events. She not only showed the things that the internet has done but also to bring to attention the censorship that authoritarian governments have exerted.
I found the Kuebler’s article to be very convincing. She offered very solid evidence that proves the ways in which the internet and social networking affected the political protests in Egypt and Tunisia. She examines why even though a higher percentage of the population in Tunisia (33% versus 21%) has access to the internet, social networks and blogs played a greater role in the political activism which took place in Egypt. One of my favorite quotes from her article comes from John Barlow: “the global social space we are building to be naturally independent of the tyrannies [governments] seek to impose to us.” I felt that there is not a more fitting quote to strengthen her paper that that.
Kuebler used wide variety of sources to further her article. Kuebler used: books & journal articles, blogs, and online periodicals. Most of the sources that are included are original sources; however, there are many instances in which secondary sources were used in order to validate conclusions and uses statistics to supplement thoughts and ideas that may need to be strengthened. The author used parenthetical documentation in order to cite sources within the text as well as citation within the endnotes. The credibility of the sources that Kuebler used varied depending on the source. Overall the sources were very credible; however, the use of blogs as sources may not as credible as the use of scholarly sources.
A key strength of Kuebler’s article was a reference to the links between theories of the public and social movement theory by Quentin Wiktorowicz who said that while social movement theory says that “the study of social movements has to go beyond the assumption that social movements occur when masses emotionally react to situations… [O]n the contrary, social movements are rarely spontaneous but rely on careful organization...” Quotations such as this, to me, made the article very convincing because by bringing in outside sources that went well with her points and arguments created a synergy within the article. One of the only weaknesses in Kuebler’s article to me was when she seemingly breaks off from her main point to say that “the Muslim brothers have recently started to use ‘wikis’ to document their own history on the web.” While I found this point to be interesting, I felt that it strayed from her main point in a way that seemed to be somewhat ‘scatterbrained.’
In the last decade a drastic change has taken place that has shaped the way that people communicate, it is very seldom that you get a letter from a friend that lives far away, now you get a text message or they post on your Facebook wall. What were once regional issues and conflicts are known almost instantly around the world. Social media has become a vessel for political activism and mobilization, not only for the people already involved, but it also allows people who may be five thousand miles away to become involved. Whether one agrees with it or not, it is a change that has made a lasting impression on us and is here to stay.
Barlow, John Perry 1996. A Cyberspace Independence Declaration. February 8. Davos, Switzerland.
Kuebler, Johanne. “Overcoming the Digital Divide: The Internet and Political Mobilization in Egypt and Tunisia.” CyberOrient 5 (2001).
Wiktorowicz, Quentin. 2004. Islamic activism: A social movement theory approach. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
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