New Media and Politics in the Middle East

April 28, 2009

The Political Impact of New Media in the Middle East A Conversation with “Abu Aardvark” (April 21, 2009)

New media technologies have reshaped political communications throughout the Middle East. In a recent lecture, Marc Lynch, widely known by his nom de blog, Abu Aardvark, looked at a variety of digital phenomena, from strikes in Egypt organized on Facebook and blogging by members of the Muslim Brotherhood, to online citizen journalism in Jordan and internet feuds in the Iraqi insurgency.

Lynch assessed the significance of these phenomena and how they threaten—or tacitly support—the prevailing power structure in the Middle East. Listen above.

(Note: The audio for this event has been edited.)

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