Billie Jeanne Brownlee - New Media and Revolution: Resistance and Dissent in Pre-uprising Syria

NEW MEDIA AND REVOLUTION

McGill-Queens Studies in Protest, Power, and Resistance

Series editor: Sarah Marsden

Protest, civil resistance, and political violence have rarely been more visible. Nor have they ever involved such a complex web of identities, geographies, and ideologies. This series expands the theoretical and empirical boundaries of research on political conflict to examine the origins, cultures, and practices of resistance. From grassroots activists and those engaged in everyday forms of resistance to social movements to violent militant networks, it considers the full range of actors and the strategies they use to provoke change. The series provides a forum for interdisciplinary work that engages with politics, sociology, anthropology, history, psychology, religious studies, and philosophy. Its ambition is to deepen understanding of the systems of power people encounter and the creative, violent, peaceful, extraordinary, and everyday ways they try to resist, subvert, and overthrow them.

1 New Media and Revolution

Resistance and Dissent in Pre-uprising Syria

Billie Jeanne Brownlee

NEW MEDIA
AND REVOLUTION

RESISTANCE AND DISSENT IN PRE-UPRISING SYRIA

BILLIE JEANNE BROWNLEE

McGill-Queens University Press
Montreal & Kingston London Chicago

McGill-Queens University Press 2020

ISBN 978-0-2280-0088-4 (cloth)

ISBN 978-0-2280-0089-1 (paper)

ISBN 978-0-2280-0230-7 (ePDF)

ISBN 978-0-2280-0231-4 (ePUB)

Legal deposit third quarter 2020

Bibliothque nationale du Qubec

Printed in Canada on acid-free paper that is 100% ancient forest free (100% post-consumer recycled), processed chlorine free

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts. Nous remercions le Conseil des arts du Canada de son soutien.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Title: New media and revolution : resistance and dissent in pre-uprising Syria / Billie Jeanne Brownlee.

Names: Brownlee, Billie Jeanne, 1984 author.

Description: Series statement: McGill-Queens studies in protest, power, and resistance ; 1 | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 20200203878 | Canadiana (ebook) 20200203932 | ISBN 9780228000891 (paper) | ISBN 9780228000884 (cloth) | ISBN 9780228002307 (ePDF) | ISBN 9780228002314 (ePUB)

Subjects: LCSH: Mass mediaPolitical aspectsSyria. | LCSH: Mass mediaSocial aspectsSyria. | LCSH: Arab Spring, 2010 | LCSH: Social changeSyria.

Classification: LCC P95.82.S97 B76 2020 | DDC 302.23095691dc2

This book was typeset in 10.5/13 Sabon.

Contents

Figures and Tables

FIGURES

TABLES

Acknowledgements

This book is the outcome of an eight-year journey, extensive fieldwork, hard research, long reflections, and the intellectual and practical support of many people I have met in the Middle East and Europe who made this book possible and who taught me many lessons in life. I apologise if I will not name them all herebelow, yet my sincere appreciation goes to them all.

First and foremost, I want to thank Lise Storm, for her academic and non-academic support. Most of the pieces in this book were produced under her supervision during my doctoral degree in Middle East politics at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies (IAIS) at the University of Exeter. The time, ideas, and critical engagement that she dedicated over the years and the enthusiasm with which she encouraged me to go forwards, have been vital for the conclusion of my PhD and for the publication of this volume. Today, it is extremely rewarding to be working as a lecturer in Middle East politics at the IAIS, where I earned my PhD, and to see my relationship with Lise transforming into a true friendship. I am grateful to my colleagues at the IAIS, students, and staff members who make the department an intellectually stimulating research environment, nurturing a friendly group climate and supporting innovative interdisciplinary education across themes, projects, and regional studies.

My gratitude goes to William Gallois, director of research at the IAIS, who has been my internal examiner at the confirmation of status exam and my mentor during my Economic and Social Research Council postdoctoral fellowship. Williams continuous support, insightful comments, honesty, and professional commitment have been invaluable for the completition of this book as well as for my progression towards being an independent researcher. William is a source of continuous support and incentive for research innovation. I would also like to thank the American Political Science Association (APSA) for inviting me to the Middle East and North African (MENA) workshops, and more specifically professors Fred Lawson, Denise DeGarmo, Lourdes Habash, Ghada al-Madbouh, and Bassel Salloukh for the support and guidance they offered me in shaping the theoretical framework of this volume.

I would also like to express my gratitude to the Middle East Centre at St Antonys College at the University of Oxford, the Center for Arab and Middle Eastern Studies at the American University of Beirut, and lcole des hautes tudes en sciences sociales in Paris for hosting me during my research. In their libraries I carried out much of the work written in this book and met wonderful people, with whom I shared life and scholarship over the years.

Finally, I should mention that I am most grateful for the opportunity to work with McGill-Queens University Press and in particular my editor, Richard Baggaley, for his remarkable professionalism, commitment, and kindness.

Last but by no means least, my gratitude goes to my family, my partner, and my friends for their unbelievable support. My family, Carmen, Bob, and Timothy, has been a constant source of support and strength all these years. I wish to thank them for their unfailing love, which is at the basis of any great deed in life. My partner, Maziyar, with whom I shared the tinest rooms and embarked on hazardous journeys, and who accompanied me to the most remote places, has been my compass in life. I am grateful for his power to transform my life in a continuous adventure. Sara, Federica, Anna, Alessio, Lorenzo, Elena, Rafa, Shireen, Negar, Viola, and Anne have sweetened these years with memorable moments and loving friendship.

On a final note, I would like to convey my heartfelt thanks to Syria and its people, which despite the brutal civil war that has devasted the country, welcomed me with sincere love and nurshied my personal growth. My thought goes to the little Wafaa, a friend who, despite the many difficulties in life, is an inspirational model with her incredible willpower, which is essential to achieving any goal we strive for, and always with a smile.

NEW MEDIA AND REVOLUTION

New Media, New Battlefields for New Revolutions

April is the cruellest month.

Thomas Stearns Eliot, The Waste Land (1922)

Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail Better.

Samuel Beckett, Worstward Ho (1983)

SYRIA AND THE RISING UP OF THE ARAB WORLD

On 12 June 2009, an unprecedented number of Iranians flocked to the polling stations for the presidential election of the Islamic Republic, motivated by a belief in the power of their vote. The Green Movement slowly vanished under the repressive measures employed by the Iranian government, though it marked the beginning of a new era of protests and revolts in a region which had for long been untouched by forms of popular mobilisations.