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Political Participation and Power Relations in Egypt: The Scope of Newspapers and Social Network Sites
[journal article]
Abstract The political use of media in Egypt post-2011 revolution brought about drastic transformations in political activism and power structures. In the context of communication power theory, this article investigates the effects of newspapers and social network sites on political participation and politic... view more
The political use of media in Egypt post-2011 revolution brought about drastic transformations in political activism and power structures. In the context of communication power theory, this article investigates the effects of newspapers and social network sites on political participation and political power relations. The research employed a mixed methodology, comprised of a survey of 527 Egyptian youth and semi-structured interviews of 12 political activists and journalists. The results showed a significant relationship between reading newspapers and youth’s political participation, but not between using social network sites and political participation. In addition, newspapers and social network sites were platforms for a series of conflicts and coalitions that emerged between pro- and anti-revolution actors. Despite the importance of social network sites as key tools for informing and mobilizing the public, they eventually failed to empower new political actors, and this was because old actors, supported by newspapers and other mainstream media, managed to obstruct the new actors’ progress.... view less
Keywords
Egypt; newspaper; social media; political participation; mediatization; political activity; adolescent; opinion formation; mobilization; censorship; Arab countries
Classification
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
Mass Communication
Free Keywords
Egyptian newspapers; Egyptian political actors; communication power; mediatization of politics; politicizing newspapers; power relations; social network sites
Document language
English
Publication Year
2017
Page/Pages
p. 53-63
Journal
Media and Communication, 5 (2017) 2
Issue topic
Multidisciplinary Studies in Media and Communication
ISSN
2183-2439
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed