Upproren i Arabvärlden. En studie i kommunikationskanalernas roll i kollektiv handling

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine how modern information and communication technology influence collective action within the framework of social movements. By studying the protests in the Arab World 2011, and focusing on the social movements in Suleimanya in northern Iraq, by observation taken on place, the essay discusses that collective action is closely related to the use of technology, for example cell phones and Internet. Result shows that modern communication technology has enabled immeasurable access and connection between individuals throughout the world, which seems to be different from previous collective action. The new communication channels in the form of social media, has been used for the dissemination of information and news, documentation, organization and membership recruitment in the social movements in the Arab World and Suleimanya. The new social movements have the tendency to be decentralized and flattened organized, they are now self-organizing and that they only do a whole as global patterns, as evidenced by the social movements in the Arab World and Suleimanya.