The Role of Information Communication Technologies in the ‘Arab Spring’: Implications Beyond the Region

The tide of mass protests that swept through the Middle East in early 2011 highlighted the distinct role of modern information-communication technologies (ICT) and digital social media tools and networks. The impact of these technologies was felt globally, affecting both developed and developing nations, if not in the same way. While the “Arab Spring” may point to a phenomenon of new mass forms of sociopolitical protest facilitated by social media networks, particularly in regard to their organizational and communication aspects, it should also produce some major reservations about the applicability of any ”direct lessons” to other regional and sociopolitical contexts. […]