Overview

Bullets and Bulletins: Media and Politics in the Wake of the Arab Uprisings takes a sobering and holistic look at the intersections between media and politics before, during, and in the reverberations of the Arab uprisings. The strength of this volume lies in its multi-disciplinary approach to the topic, with the research backed up by in-depth and rigorous case studies of the key countries of the Arab Spring. The uprisings were accompanied by profound changes in the roles of traditional and new media across the Middle East. What added significantly to the amplification of demands and grievances in the public spheres, streets, and squares, was the dovetailing of an increasingly indignant population-ignited by the prospects of economic and political marginalisation-with high rates of media literacy, digital connectivity, and social media prowess. This combination of political activism and mediated communication turned popular street protests into battles over information, where authorities and activists wrestled with each other over media messages.Information and communication technologies were used by both government authorities and protestors as simultaneous tools for silencing or amplifying dissent. Bullets and Bulletins offers original insights and analysis into the role of traditional and new media in what is undoubtedly a most critical period in contemporary Middle Eastern history.

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9781849045643

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Media in the Arab world have always been seen by government as a potentially subversive force, as the Arab Awakening was to demonstrate. We were rarely aware, however, of the real potential, even after satellite television had emerged. This book, a study of the Arab media in the widest sense, by specialists in the field, amply fills that void, capturing the excitement and political engagement that has erupted over the past five years, despite the disappointments and vicissitudes of events there. * George Joffe, Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Cambridge * This collection offers a compelling challenge to communication scholarship that assumes simplistic political dynamics and mediated strategies. Collectively these chapters demonstrate critical analyses of diversity within recent Arab protests, neither unthinkingly celebrating nor cynically dismissing them, but instead considering the complexities engaged through mediated and public spaces. Thoughtful and engaging detail make this a significant contribution to political communication. * Karin Gwinn Wilkins, Director, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, University of Texas at Austin *

Author Information

Mohamed Zayani is an Associate Professor of Critical Theory at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar. His works include Networked Publics and Digital Contention (2015), The Culture of Al Jazeera (2007) and The Al Jazeera Phenomenon (2005). Suzi Mirgani is manager and editor for publications at the Center for International and Regional Studies, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar.

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