Featured Articles
Cyberactivism in the Egyptian Revolution: How Civic Engagement and Citizen Journalism Tilted the Balance
Dr Sahar Khamis and Katherine Vaughn give a comprehensive overview of the role of new media in the overthrow of Mubarak and wonders whether the same tools will enable activists to keep up the pressure for change during what could a lengthy transitional period.
Egypt's Media Ecology in a Time of Revolution
Dr Mark Allen Peterson contrasts the Egyptian mediascape in 2011 with its Iranian counterpart in 1979 and concludes that, unlike Iran, Egypt is unlikely to revert to a pre-revolutionary status quo which included state domination of the media.
Rebuilding Egyptian Media for a Democratic Future
Dr Ramy Aly argues that Egypt's revolutionary moment is a golden opportunity to abandon old media practices which deprived many sectors of society of a media voice and privileged a narrow and elitist concept of what it means to be Egyptian.
The Arab Spring and the discourse of desperation
El Mustapha Lahlali takes a close look at the rhetorical devices by which both Ben Ali and Mubarak tried to retain power when they addressed their nations at critical junctures during the Tunisian and Egyptian uprisings.
Civil Society and Web 2.0 Technology: Social Media in Bahrain
Magdalena Maria Karolak looks at the output of Bahraini bloggers and concludes that although the bloggers initially contributed to civil society activism, the polarization of Bahrain society has since penetrated the blogosphere itself.
The Narrative of Resistance - Bahrain and Iraq
Anne Hagood looks at the political narratives adopted by Iraqi Shi'ites sympathetic to the cause of their fellow Shi'ites in Bahrain and specifically at the parallels Iraqis have drawn between the conflict in Bahrain and their own conflict against the Baathist regime overthrown in 2003.
The Media Reality in Iraqi Kurdistan
Alice Hlidkova reports on the state of the media in Iraqi Kurdistan, where the reality does not always live up to the ideals promulgated by those who run the autonomous region.
Hip Hop & Diaspora: Connecting the Arab Spring
Dr Lara N. Dotson-Renta examines the activities of cross-cultural hip-hoppers and rappers inspired by the Arab uprisings and how they have strengthened the ties between diaspora Arabs and those who continue to live in the region.
Ruling the Arab Internet: An Analysis of Internet Ownership Trends of Six Arab Countries
Michael Oghia and Helen Indelicato research Internet ownership in key Arab countries, noting the differences in the extent of state control and in the levels of private and foreign investment in the infrastructure.
The Debate Over Al Jazeera English in Burlington, VT.
William Youmans analyzes the debate in Burlington, Vermont, over whether the local cable TV company should or should not carry Al Jazeera English. He concludes that Burlington was a special case, rather than the harbinger of a breakthrough into the US market for AJE.
