Arab Revolutions: Breaking Fear| Waiting for Spring: Arab Resistance and Change — Editorial Introduction

Abstract

This essay aims to shed light on the cultural and mediated communication practices that have altered the heretofore dominance of political institutions while describing the mechanisms and expressions of resistance shaping the post-2011 Arab public sphere. Whether they are accomplished artists, experienced activists, or simply individuals who happen to have access to reach out to the world, activists have exerted disruption and contributed to the political and sociocultural transformations in the region through a variety of cultural and creative soft methods along with more mainstream actions such as street occupations, protests, and sit-ins. Digital communications have been used at different moments in activism events and have been tied to their progress.  This article and the collection of papers in this special section use case studies to narrate genres of activism and discuss the roles that digital communications have played in the Arab spring mobilizations.