Location
CCI Auditorium, 321 Communications Building
Abstract
This research examines the use of the Internet and social media as related to 2011 to 2012 Arab protests and civic unrest, testing the widespread belief that communication revolutions played a large role in the political revolutions sometimes known as the Arab Spring. The researchers take a two-pronged approach. They examine the pre-uprising communication firmament in Egypt, specifically seeking and finding correlation between Internet use and political dissatisfaction. This was done using a secondary analysis of the Egypt portion of the 2008 World Values Survey. Secondly, the researchers use secondary analysis of the Arab Barometer, first wave 2006-2007, seeking and finding further confirmation of the association between heavier Internet use and greater political dissatisfaction--and greater hope for an answer in democratic systems.
Included in
Communication Technology and New Media Commons, International and Intercultural Communication Commons, Social Influence and Political Communication Commons
Social Media as Precursor to Arab Revolt
CCI Auditorium, 321 Communications Building
This research examines the use of the Internet and social media as related to 2011 to 2012 Arab protests and civic unrest, testing the widespread belief that communication revolutions played a large role in the political revolutions sometimes known as the Arab Spring. The researchers take a two-pronged approach. They examine the pre-uprising communication firmament in Egypt, specifically seeking and finding correlation between Internet use and political dissatisfaction. This was done using a secondary analysis of the Egypt portion of the 2008 World Values Survey. Secondly, the researchers use secondary analysis of the Arab Barometer, first wave 2006-2007, seeking and finding further confirmation of the association between heavier Internet use and greater political dissatisfaction--and greater hope for an answer in democratic systems.