Plotting Democratic Change in Chat Rooms
The Role of PalTalk as an Eritrean Diaspora Forum
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5082367 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Yonatan T Tewelde (0000-0003-4801-7883, Pennsylvania State University, corresponding author), Yonatan Tewelde (Penn State University) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 25-46 |
| Publication date | 2023-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Diaspora A Journal of Transnational Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1044-2057 • E-ISSN: 1911-1568 |
| Publisher | University of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.3138/diaspora.23.1.2023.01.23 |
| OpenAlex | W4379927990 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 33 |
This study explores the utilization of the PalTalk chat application by the Eritrean diaspora as a platform for solidarity building and long-distance activism against totalitarianism in their home country between 2000 and 2016. The objective of this research is to analyze the role of Eritrean PalTalk as a transnational mobilization network, with a particular focus on "Smer" room, one of the most popular Eritrean PalTalk groups ( Smer is "unite" in Tigrinya). The study delves into the evolution, struggles, and milestones of "Smer" room and illustrates how Eritrean migrants, living under a regime where private press is banned and criticism of the government is not tolerated, utilized chat rooms as safe spaces for solidarity building and public opinion construction. Additionally, the research considers how PalTalk may have enabled diaspora Eritreans to overcome fears of punishment from the repressive state, and how chat room patrons planned and mobilized diasporic mass demonstrations in Europe demanding the stepping down of their state leader
Democracy · Diaspora · Government (linguistics · Media studies · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Sociology · Solidarity · State (computer science · African history and culture analysis · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Diaspora, migration, transnational identity · Law · Public Administration
Transnationalism
Global Diasporas
Social media and the politics of ethnicity in Zimbabwe
The Lack of Political Space of the Eritrean Diaspora in the Arab Gulf and Sudan
Social Media and the Arab Spring
Counter-media
Understanding Eritrea
Digital diasporas and conflict prevention
Coercive Transnational Governance and Its Impact on the Settlement Process of Eritrean Refugees in Canada
The African Garrison State
The limits to 'transnationalism
The Eritrean diaspora and its impact on regime stability
Conceptualizing Civil Society in Africa
Home, city and diaspora
Forced labour in Eritrea
The Ethiopian-Eritrean conflict
"Whatsupoch" on the Net
The Catch-22 of Resistance
Civil Society and Cyberspace
Introduction to Special Issue
Cyberwars of Words
From Immigrant to Transmigrant
Eritrea Goes Global
Transnational Migration Studies
Diaspora and the Afterlife of Violence
Transnational governance and the centralization of state power in Eritrea and exile
Refugees, Migration, and Gated Nations
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,33 |
| Citation span | 2023 - 2023 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |