Currents in Media, Social and Religious Movements the Middle East Mediatization of a Revolution

This book examines the crucial role of Syrian diaspora activists in the aftermath of the Syrian revolution and before the fall of the al-Assad regime. Through interviews and digital ethnography, it explores how media practices and transnational networks shape political activism with a key narrative of unity, human rights and political freedom. During the 2011 uprisings across the SWANA region, the development of new media technologies and the work of diaspora activists played pivotal roles in amplifying demands for political change. In Syria, where the revolution ultimately led to the recent fall of the al-Assad regime, members of the diaspora have been deeply involved in sustaining calls for freedom and justice. Yet even as media became essential tools for mobilization and visibility, the wider processes of mediatization introduced new challenges, and little is known about how Syrians abroad navigated this complex and rapidly shifting media landscape. This book investigates the media practices of Syrian diaspora communities and examines how they engage with both the possibilities and limitations of contemporary media technologies. Drawing on interviews with Syrians in Denmark, Sweden, and Germany, combined with digital ethnography, it explores the intersections between media practices, diasporic political activism, evolving narratives of the revolution, and the multifaceted ties to Syria shaped by violence, nostalgia, and hopes for a better future. By foregrounding bottom-up processes of mediatization, the study highlights the challenges facing Syrian diaspora activists, including the hardships of displacement, transnational repression, information overload, and internal fragmentation within the opposition movements. It offers a nuanced analysis of emerging cultures of information and political engagement, as well as the ambiguous feelings of belonging and the shifting notions of “home” among Syrians living in diaspora.

Pagina's: 266, Editie: Eerste editie, Hardcover, Lang, Peter