From Tahrir Square to Ferguson: Social Networks as Facilitators of Social Movements(5 Communication Law)

The last several years have seen mass uprisings and dynamic social movements across the globe, from the onset of the Arab Spring in 2011, to the Black Lives Matter movement following Michael Brown’s death in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014. There is no doubt that social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter accelerated and facilitated these uprisings, providing a way for people to organize and express themselves despite government repression. From Tahrir Square to Ferguson: Social Networks as Facilitators of Social Movements attempts to answer the question of whether these movements could have succeeded before the advent of the Internet age. From political protest to regime change, social movements have become increasingly digital. Taking on the current political climate from an international perspective, From Tahrir Square to Ferguson: Social Networks as Facilitators of Social Movements attempts to address the issues of a growing social media audience facing a wide variety of social and political issues.

Table of Contents:
List of Illustrations – Juliet Dee: Introduction – Part One: Middle East – Douglas Fraleigh: The Tunisian Revolution: A Social Movement of Courage Assisted by Social Media – Luciana Garcia de Oliveira/Matheus Cardoso-da-Silva: From Tahrir Square to Facebook and Vice Versa: The Public Sphere, Cyber-Space and the Reach of Post-Revolution in Egypt – Ahmed Al-Rawi: Social Media and the 2014 Hostilities in Iraq – Rauf Arif: Social Networks, Social Movements and the Politico-Cultural Situation of Pakistani Media – Abdelfettah Benchenna & Zineb Majdouli: Between Cyber-Activism and Mobilization: The February 20 Movement in Morocco – Christine Ogan/Yeşim Kaptan: Laughing with Tear Gas in Our Eyes: Use of Satirical Humor in the Gezi Park Social Movement in Turkey – Marouf Hasian Jr./Sean Lawson: The Syrian Rebellion and the “First Social Media” War – Part Two: North America – Victoria Carty: How to Interpret the Occupy Wall Street Social Movement in the Context of the Digital Revolution – Ginger M. Loggins/W. Russell Robinson: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised: The American Civil Rights Movement Goes Online – Jenn Mackay: “We Are More than 131”: The Mexico Student Movement for Free Speech and Political Freedom – Part Three: Europe – Lorenzo Dalvit/Cosimo Marco Scarcelli: The 5 Star Movement and the Promise of eDemocracy in Italy – Marc Perelló-Sobrepere: The Catalan Case: Building a New State from Social Outrage and New Media – Leocadia Díaz Romero: Spain: “The Outraged” – Susan J. Drucker/Gary Gumpert: France Hits the Boulevards: Je Suis Charlie Marches #MarcheRepublicaine – André Haller: A Train Station Divides a Country: The Use of Social Media by Activists during the “Stuttgart 21” Controversy in Germany – Vassilis Vamvakas/Dimitra Dimitrakopoulou: The Online Element in Intermedia Agenda-Setting: The Case of the Greek Indignant Citizens Movement – Bidu Bhusan Dash/K. M. Baharul Islam: The Delhi Rape Case: The Role of Social Media in Protests and Policy Change – Jun Liu: Using Cell Phones to Organize Political Protests in China – Melanie Radue: Networked Flows of Information in Myanmar’s Pro-Democracy Movement – Leslie J. Reynard: Activism in the Public Cyber-Sphere:Shahbag Square, Bangladesh.

About the Author :
Juliet Dee is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Delaware. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Princeton University, her Master’s degree from Northwestern University, and her doctorate from Temple University, and is a co-author of Mass Communication Law in a Nutshell (2014).