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Social Media and Forced Migration: The Subversion and Subjugation of Political Life
[journal article]
Abstract As social media platforms and the associated communication technologies become increasingly available, affordable and usable, these tools effectively enable forced migrants to negotiate political life across borders. This connection provides a basis for resettled refugees to interact with their tran... view more
As social media platforms and the associated communication technologies become increasingly available, affordable and usable, these tools effectively enable forced migrants to negotiate political life across borders. This connection provides a basis for resettled refugees to interact with their transnational networks and engage in political activities in novel ways. This article presents a digital ethnography with 15 resettled refugees living in New Zealand and the role of social media and transnational networks for the maintenance and creation of political lives. Taking a broad interpretation of how political and political life are understood, this article focuses on how power is achieved and leveraged to provide legitimacy and control. In particular, it examines how refugees practise transnational politics through social media as they navigate both the subjugation and subversion of power. These digital interactions have the potential to reconfigure and, at times collapse, the distance between the resettled "here" and the transnational "there". This article highlights how social media facilitates political lives as an ongoing transnational phenomenon and its implications for the country of resettlement and the wider diaspora.... view less
Keywords
digital media; migration; refugee; social media; communication technology; political participation
Classification
Migration, Sociology of Migration
Interactive, electronic Media
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
Free Keywords
digital communication; forced migration; politics; resettlement
Document language
English
Publication Year
2019
Page/Pages
p. 173-183
Journal
Media and Communication, 7 (2019) 2
Issue topic
Refugee Crises Disclosed: Intersections between Media, Communication and Forced Migration Processes
ISSN
2183-2439
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed