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The new Middle East / Policy Brief

The Role of New Media and Communication Technologies in Arab Transitions

05/12/2011 By Manuel Manrique, Barah Mikaïl

Information and Communication Technologies were an important catalyst of the Arab  spring. They helped to bring down the Mubarak and Ben Ali regimes by mobilising  important parts of the population and creating alternative discourses to authoritarian regimes, which found international backing. However, experiences from  other parts of the world suggest that their role in sustaining the transition process in the longer run is less certain. ICTs can nonetheless support democratic  consolidation by fostering an open public sphere and helping pro-democracy actors to remain engaged.

 

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Keywords

Authoritarian regimes Democracy Democratic consolidation Information and Communication Technologies Middle East and North Africa Transition

Bio author: Manuel Manrique

Development cooperation. Africa-EU relations. Spanish foreign policy towards Africa.

Bio author: Barah Mikaïl

Middle East. North Africa region