New Media/Alternative Politics: Communication technologies and political change in the Middle East and Africa
Thursday, 14 October 2010 to Saturday, 16 October 2010
Location: CRASSH, 17 Mill Lane, Cambridge

Summary Abstract

The New Media/Alternative Politics conference brought together a diverse mix of participants from academic, activist, policy and media backgrounds. The event opened with a lively panel discussion debating whether optimistic assumptions that new media inevitably open spaces for more liberal and democratic politics can be justified.  Presenters explored the relationship between new media and political and social change in a wide range of contexts from South Africa to Zimbabwe, Liberia, Nigeria, Egypt, Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  An equally diverse array of new media forms were analysed, including not only social media platforms such a Facebook and YouTube, but also the interaction of new and 'old' media such as SMS messaging and radio.  Support from CRASSH enabled us to include African speakers who would have been unable to take part int he conference otherwise, including Amy Saunderson-Meyer from the Zimbabwean civil society activist network Kubatana.net and Dombo Sylvester from the University of Zimbabwe

Conference Review

Conference Themes

The following themes and questions were raised in the call for papers and discussed throughout the event

1. Communicating dissent, mobilising change

How are new media technologies being used in the Middle East and Africa to mobilise for political change? We encourage proposals that report on the use of a wide variety of new media technologies to communicate political dissent and organise for political change using images, voices and text. Potential topics include the use of mobile phone cameras, blogging, text messaging, online social networking and video activism to organise demonstrations, monitor elections, make demands upon government, and connect activists.

 2. What is ‘new’ in new media?

Are there ways in which digital media is qualitatively different to earlier waves of new media in its interactivity, immediacy and connections to global networks? We are interested in examinations of how political actors have used emergent media in the past, such as printing technologies, duplicating machines and audio cassettes, and how this can inform our understanding of political activists’ use of new media today.

 3. New media versus old power

Have those controlling political power been able to restrict the emancipatory potential of new media technologies? How have activists used new media to respond and resist? Why have some of the optimistic predictions equating the spread of new media with political liberalisation not been realised? We encourage empirical and theoretical submissions that examine the relationships of resistance and response between state institutions and citizens or groups using new media.

4. Local new media and global designs on political change      

How is the use of new media by political activists in the Middle East and Africa shaped by global forces? This broad theme addresses topics such as aid and diplomatic support for particular trends in new media by external powers, use of new media for ‘soft power’ diplomacy, how global corporations and international media networks have shaped patterns of new media use, and whether new communication technologies have reconfigured relationships between international and local NGOs.

5. Researching new media

What are the methodological, ethical and practical challenges of researching new media and political change in the Middle East and Africa? We would encourage submissions that look towards a progressive engagement between researchers, practitioners and activists to simultaneously study and support the use of new media in political engagement.

Further activities and publication plans

The majority of conference presenters have agreed to submit their papers for publication in a new series of open access working papers, which will be published by the Centre of Governance and Human Rights as part of its research programme. The first paper to be published in this format can be seen online here: http://www.polis.cam.ac.uk/cghr/research_newmedia.htm.
 
The convenors are also working on proposals to the AHRC for Research Network funding in partnership with Rhodes University in order to follow up the conference with a series of international workshops aimed at addressing the key methodological and conceptual challenges raised by researching new media and political change in the Middle East and Africa.


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