(This appeared as an OpEd entitled “The Real Success in the Tunisian Elections is an Autthentic, Democratic Process” in the Seattle Times. TUNISIA, a country that had never experienced democracy, held a successful election last week. This was the first election of the Arab Spring, and the first in an […]
During the “Arab Spring,” young tech savvy activists led uprisings in a dozen countries across North Africa and the Middle East. At first, digital media allowed democratization movements to develop new tactics for catching dictators off guard. Eventually, authoritarian governments worked social media into their own counter-insurgency strategies. What have […]
(This originally appeared as “Why Democracy Will Win” on the Reuters Commentary Wire.) The Day of Rage in Saudi Arabia was a tepid affair, and Libyan rebels have suffered strategic losses. Only two months ago, popular uprisings in Tunisia inspired Egyptians and others to take to the streets to demand political […]
(This originally appeared as “Digital Media and the Arab Spring” on the Reuters Commentary Wire.) President Obama identified technology as one of the key variables that enabled and encouraged average Egyptians to protest. Digital media didn’t oust Mubarak, but it did provide the medium by which soulful calls for freedom […]
