Will US government led initiatives compromise net activists who seek greater freedoms within authoritarian societies? Whether its co-option or jumping […]
Global Bloggers Tell Washington (And Google): Hands Off Our Internet Freedom Fight
The U.S.’s Internet freedom movement has been engaged in plenty of soul-searching since Haystack, a much-hyped anti-censorship tool built by […]
The Internet Freedom Fallacy and the Arab Digital activism
This article focuses on grassroots digital activism in the Arab world and the risks of what seems to be an inevitable collusion with U.S foreign policy and interests. It sums up the most important elements of the conversation I have been having for the last 2 years with many actors involved in defending online free speech and the use of technology for social and political change.
Digital Activism, the U.S. Government, and the Arab World
A few weeks ago, the New York Times published an op-ed by respected journalist Rami Khoury, entitled “When Arabs Tweet.” […]
Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are the new tools of protest in the Arab world
Khaled Said is not the first Egyptian whom police allegedly beat to death. But his death has sparked a virtual […]
Why the UK Home Office’s “Pro-Islamic” Blog Study is Wrong
CONTEST is the United Kingdom’s counter-terrorism strategy, with a stated aim to “reduce the risk to the UK and its […]
The Risk of Facebook Activism in the New Arab Public Sphere
Over at The Arabist, Issandr El Amrani ruminates on Facebook’s role in Middle Eastern politics, a subject I’ve had my […]
Will Arabic domain names help censorship, create ‘cyber-ghettos’?
Back in October, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, began processing requests for domain names in […]
Arab Facebook : The Internet’s role in Politics in the Middle East
The virtual world offers new opportunities for political expression and communication. Why political discussion has migrated to the Internet is […]
مأزق الاحتجاج الإلكتروني
Arab censors swim against the information tides
It was supposed to be a reform of a bad piece of legislation that not only muzzled the press but […]
Intellectuals’ responsibility in the collapse of the democratic process in Tunisia
Needless to say, there are in Tunisia, just like everywhere else, many historians, writers, and poets, filmmakers, who have never signed a single petition against torture or corruption, while considering themselves in private as democrats. Should we blame the collapse of the democratic process on them ? May be they have not to be blamed because they are not intellectuals at all.
Le rapport WIA 2008 de l’Université de Washington sur le blogging dans le monde musulman
L’Université de Washington vient de publier une étude portant, entre autres, sur la nature du contenu du blogging dans les pays à forte majorité musulmane. Cette étude dresse par ailleurs le tableau peu glorieux des persécutions des blogueurs dans ces différents pays.
6 ans de recherche et quelques 50 000 interviews, l’état des opinions publiques arabes
6 ans de recherche et quelques 50 000 interviews. Il s’agit d’un travail publié par D. Mogahed et J L. Esposito sur l’Etat des opinions publiques arabes. Et parmi les éléments pertinents, les auteurs ont essayé de mettre en parallèle la dichotomie entre, d’une part, la réprobation morale du terrorisme en général et, d’autre part, la « rage [sic]» éprouvée à l’égard […]