During the Arab Spring, the Western media focused heavily on
the usage of social media. In
particular, social media was analyzed as a tool for the organization and spread
of demonstrations that ultimately ousted several long-standing regimes in the
Middle East. The internet and tools such
as Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube were trumpeted as playing a key role as new
ways of subverting repressive measures.
One of the aftermaths of the Arab Spring was a strong and at times
annoying focus by the Western media as if these specific internet tools were
directly responsible for revolution. At
times, one could not help but think that this was the first time a resistance
movement in the Middle East has utilized the internet (or modern technology for
that matter). Some commentators even
ignored the human factor to the point that someone could be forgiven for
thinking that these tools were directly responsible for the Arab Spring rather
than a tool for their success. The usage
of technology and new forms of media has played a key and little understood
role in defining Middle Eastern politics.
Al
Jazeera became a sort of “boogeyman” in the eyes of American commentators,
politicians, and journalists during the Bush administration. Although such thinly-veiled criticisms of
those opposed to the Iraq War and “War on Terror” were not uncommon from the
Bush administration (see France), Al Jazeera was at times signaled out for subverting
American policy. The impression one received from the Western
media was that Al Jazeera had a radical agenda directly opposed to the spread of
“democracy” and “freedom” to the Middle East.
Nothing could have been further from the truth, but this suggestion was
always implicit. Al Jazeera has played a
key role in regional affairs over the last decade, but it has not been a
subversive role. Rather, in the true
spirit of Benedict Anderson, Al Jazeera has played a role in developing a new
Arab consciousness. Its popularity within the Arab world (and even
abroad) gave it the ability to influence and shape thought throughout the
Middle East. While the social media
documented in the previous paragraph played a key role on a micro level, it was
the reporting of Al Jazeera and other news agencies that helped shape the conversation
on the Arab Spring at a national, regional, and even international level. Scholars such as Lawrence Pintak have indicated
that Al Jazeera is well-placed and willing to create a new Arab community in a
modern and globalized sense. In the case
of Al Jazeera, modern technology has played a key role in creating a new and
powerful media voice.
On the
flip side, the usage of technology by fundamentalist groups has been
well-documented (including in some of my blog entries). While protesters in the Arab Spring were
asking for values such as freedom, liberty, and democracy that carry very
modern connotations, fundamentalists groups such as Al-Qaeda are arguing against
this very modernity. Still, it is worth
noting that these fundamentalist groups have fully embraced technology for the
spread of their ideology. When the media
or analysts study fundamentalist groups, one of the natural places to get
unfiltered information is on internet sites.
Even proclaimed anti-modern movements have utilized modern technology to
its fullest advantage. While the Arab
Spring was unique and unprecedented in its scope and impact, its usage of
modern technology was not. The internet,
satellite news, and other facets of the modern have long played a role in
shaping and influencing Middle Eastern politics.
BDF
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