Digital Activism and the Public Sphere

• Author / Creator

  Smith, Victoria S A

• This thesis examines the role that digital technology plays in the advancement of political and social goals. Though a fairly recent phenomenon, digital activism has become a highly contested topic as regards its effectiveness.
  This thesis looks at two case studies in the use of digital tools for activism, the 2011 Arab Spring in Tunisia and then in Egypt.
  Digital activism is theorized as is related to the public sphere as discussed by Jürgen Habermas. This thesis concludes by identifying a number of existing threats to digital activism inherent in the current governance structure of the Internet.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Digital activism
  • Egypt
  • Jurgen Habermas
  • Public sphere
  • Internet governance
  • Tunisia
  • Technology

• Graduation date

  Fall 2013

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Arts

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3TX35H7X

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.