I. B. Tauris & Company Dissent and Revolution in a Digital Age: Social Media, Blogging and Activism in Egypt (Library of Modern Middle East Studies)

During the Arab uprisings of early 2011, which saw the overthrow of Zine el-Abadine Ben Ali in Tunisia and Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, the role of digital media and social networking tools was widely reported. This was also recognized by the very authorities fighting against popular pressure for change, and the Egyptian government s attempt to block internet and mobile phone access in January 2011 demonstrated the extent to which it was seen as powerful and potentially subversive tool. What is yet to be examined is the local context that allowed digital media to play this role: Egypt, for example, a history of online activism laid important ground work for the scenes in Tahrir Square. Here, David Faris argues that it was circumstances particular to Egypt, more than the spark from Tunisia, that allowed the revolution to take off: namely blogging and digital activism stretching back into the 1990s, combined with sustained and numerous protest movements and an independent press. Dissent and Revolution in a Digital Age tracks the rocky path taken by Egyptian bloggers operating in Mubarak s authoritarian regime to illustrate how the state monopoly on information was eroded, making space for dissent and digital activism. Review Understanding the role of digital media in the evolution of the Arab Spring is a monumental task, and talking about 'Twitter Revolutions' or 'Facebook Uprisings' is a nonstarter. David Faris makes compelling arguments precisely because his analysis is not tied to a particular tool or application. With a focused study of Egypt, he is able to demonstrate the strong connection between social media diffusion and civic mobilisation. Yet through his comparative study of other recent digital uprisings, he is able to demonstrate a weak connection to the success of those revolutionaries who get inspired by digital cascades of information. Philip N. Howard, Fellow of Princeton University and the author of The Digital Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Information Technology and Political Islam. (2010) David Faris has written a thoughtful, broadly comparative and theoretically informed analysis of social media in Egyptian politics over the last decade. With a wide range of rich examples, he shows how and where the new media environment mattered as well as where its impact has been exaggerated. A welcome contribution to the growing comparative literature on the political effects of the internet in the Arab world and beyond. Marc Lynch, Associate Professor of Political Science at George Washington University and author of The Arab Uprisings: The Unfinished Revolutions of the New Middle East (2012). A powerful new contribution to the growing body of knowledge on social networks and political change, Dissent and Revolution in a Digital Age is an important resource for scholars, policymakers and activists seeking to understand the circumstances under which digital tools aid mobilisation and collective action in authoritarian contexts. --Shanthi Kalathil, co-author of Open Networks, Closed Regimes: The Impact of the Internet on Authoritarian Rule (2003). About the Author David Faris is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Roosevelt University, where he teaches Egyptian and Middle Eastern Politics. He holds a PhD in Political Science from Pennsylvania University.