Social media, protest cultures and political subjectivities of the Arab spring

Bibliographic Data

ID11268600
AuthorsTim Markham (0000-0002-7304-2610, Birkbeck, University of London, corresponding author)
Year2014
Volume36
Issue1
Pages89-104
Publication date2014-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueMedia Culture & Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0163-4437 • E-ISSN: 1460-3675
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0163443713511893
OpenAlexW2149452318
LanguageEN
Citations received22
References cited32

This article draws on phenomenological perspectives to present a case against resisting the objectification of cultures of protest and dissent. The generative, self-organizing properties of protest cultures, especially as mobilized through social media, are frequently argued to elude both authoritarian political structures and academic discourse, leading to new political subjectivities or ‘imaginaries’. Stemming from a normative commitment not to over-determine such nascent subjectivities, this view has taken on a heightened resonance in relation to the recent popular uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa. The article argues that this view is based on an invalid assumption that authentic political subjectivities and cultures naturally emerge from an absence of constraint, whether political, journalistic or academic. The valorization of amorphousness in protest cultures and social media enables affective and political projection, but overlooks politics in its institutional, professional and procedural forms

Authoritarianism · Democracy · Dissent · Media studies · Normative · Political dissent · Political science · Politics · Social movement · Sociology · Critical Theory and Philosophy · Gender Studies · Law · Political theory and Gramsci · Social Media and Politics

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