Reevaluating the Arab Spring
Visuality, Media, and the Struggle for Democracy
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10224923 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Abdul Fahad (0000-0002-0550-4369, University of Malaya, corresponding author), Siti Ezaleila Mustafa (0000-0003-0010-8807, University of Malaya) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 349-363 |
| Publication date | 2025-07-04 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Contemporary Review of the Middle East (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2349-0055 • E-ISSN: 2347-7989 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/23477989251351414 |
| OpenAlex | W4412024810 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 34 |
The Arab Spring was a critical phenomenon during the fight for democracy, which fascinated many scholars. Although some studies have focused on the civilizational, ideological, and power structures of the Arab Spring, much focus has also been placed on its new media aspects. New media was instrumental in crafting public wishes, political mental frameworks, and the Arab public sphere; this form of visual participation furthered Orientalist essentialisms that simplify the complexity of movements. This essay examines the Arab Spring from a different angle; it analyzes how the region was drawn into neoliberal capitalism, the national political crisis, and the region’s changing sociopolitical and economic structures. From this perspective, the Arab Spring has become more than just one critical event; it is viewed as an experience constructed by diverse forms of media, telling alternate stories and addressing the struggle to make sense of daily life. The Arab Spring is often presented as a social movement focused on democracy and social justice, but its unfolding tells a different story. The revival of authoritarianism, the economic crisis, and the new media’s ability to facilitate democracy’s flaws present a considerably more complex story. This essay argues for a balanced approach that integrates visual and nonvisual dimensions, recognizing the power of media representation while addressing the underlying structural forces shaping the Arab world
Democracy · Media studies · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Spring (device · Decolonial Thought and Epistemologies · Engineering · Law · Middle East Politics and Society · Urban Planning and Governance
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Networks of Outrage and Hope
Visual Digital Culture
Notes Toward a Performative Theory of Assembly
Ottoman Orientalism
The Subject and Power
Dreamland
Awakening Islam
Image Politics in the Middle East
An Introduction to Visual Culture
A History of New Media in the Arab Middle East
Walking Through the Sahrawi Refugee Camps with Judith Butler
Contextualizing the Arab Revolts
Gendering the Arab Spring
The Arab Spring Meets the Occupy Wall Street Movement
Revolution without Revolutionaries
Framing the “Arab Spring”
Public Diplomacy 2.0
Networks of Outrage and Hope
The Upheavals in Egypt and Tunisia
Tracking the “Arab Spring
New Media, the “Arab Spring,” and the Metamorphosis of the Public Sphere
Discipline and Punish
On Visuality
The Arab Revolution
The Production of Modernization
Watching From Afar
Visualizing the Anthropocene
| Highly cited | No |
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