New Media-New Algerian Arab Spring?

• Autorzy: Zofia Sawicka
• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

The paper presents the events in Algeria that led to the fall of Abd al-Aziz Bouteflika, the long-term president of the country, in April 2019 and examines the role of the new media in this process. The analysis explains the reasons for the failure of the Arab Spring in this country in 2011. Critical discourse analysis of Algerian new media conducted by the author shows that despite a lack of active actions in 2011, youth movements appeared in Algeria and led the protests in 2019 not only on the Internet but also in the "offline" world. Currently, the discussion about political impact of new media focuses mainly on the question whether the power of protesting societies is sufficient to overthrow a government. According to the author of the paper, the above formulation of the problem reflects a single-dimensional ap-proach thereto, which has been proven by the example of Algeria. New media have become an integral part of contemporary societies and their discourse started to serve as a platform for, mobilizing and participating and disseminating information. In Algeria, despite the fact that social media "have not yet reached maturity" (among others, because of illiteracy, mis-management, a lack of freedom of speech or true democracy), they are gradually becoming political and start constituting public spaces for those excluded from the mainstream politics and media. The social media have caused a situation wherein the Algerian government has to meet growing demands of society for a greater degree of democracy, justice and freedom of the press and freedom of opinion. With their help, people learned the techniques of social mobilization, developed structures of social movement and civil society. The effects of this ac-tivity are gradually becoming noticeable not only in Algeria but throughout the Arab world.(original abstract)

Słowa kluczowe

EN

Internet; Social media; Social protests; Social movements

PL

Internet; Media społecznościowe; Protesty społeczne; Ruchy społeczne

• Czasopismo: Torun International Studies
• Rocznik: 2019
• Numer: nr 1(12)
• Strony: 75--88

Twórcy

autor

Zofia Sawicka

• University of Information Technology and Management in Rzeszów, Poland

Bibliografia

• CIA. (n.d.). Algeria, The World Factbook. Retrieved June 16, 2018 from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ag.html
• Anbarani, A. (2013). Typology of Political Regimes in North Africa before Arab Spring. Case Study of Egypt, Tunisia and Libya. International Journal of Asian Social Science, 2013, 3(5).
• Arab News. (2019, March 6). Social media breaks 'wall of fear' for Algeria protesters. Retrieved June 30, 2019, from http://www.arabnews.com/node/1462191/media
• Aziz, A. M. (2019, March 26). Protesting Politics in Algeria, Middle East Report Online. Retrieved June 10, 2019, from https://merip.org/2019/03/protesting-politics-in-algeria/
• Barney, D. (2008). Społeczeństwo sieci, Warszawa: SIC!.
• Bayat, A. (2010). Life as Politics: How Ordinary People Change the Middle East. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
• Bessadi, N. (2019, March). Algeria: social media and public sphere building, Algiers Herald Magazine. Retrieved June 9, 2019, from https://www.algiersherald.com/algeria-social-media-and-public-sphere-building/
• Blog "Algerie-politique". Retrieved June 10, 2016, from http://ffs1963.unblog.fr/
• Blog "Bilad Telmesan". Retrieved June 10, 2016, from http://bilad-13.maktoobblog.com/
• Blog "Dahmani Blog". Retrieved June 10, 2016, from http://dahmani.canalblog.com/
• Blog "F jak Facebook". "Algieria-instrukcja obsługi". Retrieved June 16, 2014, from http://algierski.blog.pl/tag/facebook/
• Bouzid, B. (2019, April 14). Communication divide fuelled Algeria's protests, The Arab Weekly. Retrieved May 5, 2019, from https://thearabweekly.com/communication-divide-fuelled-algerias-protests
• Burke, J., & Michaelson, R. (2019, March 15). Algeria protests grow as elite distances itself from ailing president, The Guardian. Retrieved May 3, 2019, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/15/algeria-protesters-bouteflik-movement
• Castells, M. (2013). Sieci oburzenia i nadziei. Ruchy społeczne w erze Internetu. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.
• Dahlberg, L. (2001). Computer- Mediated Communication and The Public Sphere: A Criti-cal Analysis. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, vol. 7, Issue 1.
• Diamond, L. (2010). Why are there no Arab democracies? Journal of Democracy, vol. 21, (1), pp. 93-104.
• Dodge, T. (2012, May). Conclusion: the Middle East After the Arab Spring, w: After the Arab Spring: Power Shift in the Middle East?, LSE Ideas, Special Report. Retrieved June 6, 2016,from,http://www.lse.ac.uk/IDEAS/publications/reports/pdf/SR011/FINAL_LSE_IDEAS__ConclusionsTheMiddleEastAfterTheArabSpring_Dodge.pdf
• Fandy, M. (2007). (Un)civil war of words: Media and Politics in the Arab World. London, Westport: Praeger Seciuruty National.
• Goldfarb, J.C. (2006). The Politics of Small Things: The Power of the Powerless in Dark Times.Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Górak-Sosnowska, K. (2011, September 12). Arabska Wiosna niejedno ma imię, Liberte!Retrieved June 10, 2016, from, http://liberte.pl/arabska-wiosna-niejedno-ma-imie/
• Habermas, J. (2007). Strukturalne przeobrażenia sfery publicznej. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.
• Hafez, K. (2006). Arab Satellite Broadcasting: Democracy without Political Parties? Transnational Broadcasting Studies, 15.
• Howard, P.N., & Hussain, M.M. (2013). Democracy's Fourth Wave? Digital Media and the Arab Spring. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Internet World Stats. (2019). Algeria. Retrieved 10 June, 2019, from https://www.internetworldstats.com/africa.htm

Identyfikatory

DOI

10.12775/TIS.2019.005