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The Emergence of Libyan Networked Publics: Social Media Use Before, During and After the Libyan Uprising

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The Emergence of Libyan Networked Publics: Social Media Use Before, During and After the Libyan Uprising The Emergence of Libyan Networked Publics: Social Media Use Before, During and After the Libyan Uprising A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Information School The University of Sheffield By: Skina Ehdeed February 2019 Acknowledgements and Dedication I would first and foremost like to express my thanks to Allah for giving me the courage and help to finish this work. I owe special thanks to the Libyan Cultural Section in London, the University of Tripoli and the Libyan Ministry of Higher Education for granting me a scholarship to complete the present study. I am also very grateful to my friends in the UK and Libya for their endless support at those moments of distress and nostalgia. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisors, Dr. Jo Bates and Dr. Andrew Cox, for continual support and invaluable guidance; without them this project would not have been possible. I am also very grateful to my examiners, Dr. Anoush Simon and Dr. Paul Reilly, for their perceptive reading of my thesis and for the interesting discussion at the viva. I also want to express my appreciation to all the interviewees for their sincere and pleasant participation. Without their involvement I would not have been able to complete this research. I would importantly like to thank my brother, Khaled Ehdeed. Without your help I could not have made it to the UK! Thank you! I also would like to thank my other siblings and my lovely nieces and nephews who gave me constant support throughout the period of my PhD study. I love you all! Special dedication This thesis is dedicated to two special people in my life: my late dad who gave me the best education and catered for all my needs; and my late mum who believed in me and always kept me in her prayers, who passed away just a few days just before I started my PhD. This is for you! i Abstract Much has been written about the role of social media in the Arab countries following the uprisings of 2011, most of it focused on Tunisia and Egypt. There has been very little research, however, that looks at the role of social media and its democratic potential within the Libyan context. Drawing on different understandings and critiques of the public sphere concept and how internet technology has transformed it, this qualitative study aimed to investigate the nature of the emergent Libyan networked public sphere, and traced how it has evolved over time. More specifically, this study focuses on three critical phases: immediately before, during, and after the uprising, covering primarily the period between 2011-2016, with a brief glance at Libya’s public sphere in the pre-uprising period. This study adopted an interpretative qualitative methodology, relying on multiple research techniques as part of a process of triangulation to provide a broader understanding of the research questions, and assure validity of claims and arguments. These qualitative methods were: (1) semi-structured Skype-based interviews with young Libyans with varying shades of political opinion aged between 25-35 years old in three cities, Tripoli, Benghazi and Sabha; and (2) qualitative content analysis of two selected Facebook pages, the revolutionary-oriented LW Facebook page, and the LI Facebook page, which was anti- revolutionary-oriented. The interview data were analysed using thematic analysis, while content analysis was used to analyse the Facebook data. The study revealed that while social media may make it easier to mobilise populations, this does not mean it is easier to achieve gains or to sustain movements. The study revealed that the social media landscape that opened up suddenly after the uprising, revealing a vibrant political environment marked by different forms of political activities and practices, has devolved into an environment of conflict and chaos. The enthusiasm and hope for change has largely been replaced by frustration, distrust and fear in a way that has disempowered people and led many to stay passive recipients rather than active contributors in democratic debate and practice. The study also shows how Libya’s pre-existing divisions might have exacerbated online polarization. More specifically, it illustrates how Libya’s complex tribal composition, and its pre-existing regional cleavages, mainly the East-West divide, have been reanimated, and came to characterise the online practices and discussions of publics. This division along tribal and regional lines turned social media networks into spaces of contention and conflict, that led many to eventually abandon political participation. This ii suggests that although there were some tentative signs of the development of a more democratic networked public sphere in the immediate aftermath of the revolution, the deepening crisis and shrinking space for public debate indicate a complex, shifting and uncertain picture of the role of social media in the development of Libya’s post-uprising public sphere. Because social media landscape in Libya has continued to change and evolve since 2011, this study recommends that to understand the nature of emergent networked publics in post- revolutionary societies, the theoretical framework ought to be longitudinal because countries in transition are often experiencing fast-paced changes in a way that makes it problematic to generalise from a snapshot moment. This study also recommends that recognising and adapting to these changes needs to be at the heart of any social media strategy for Libya for some time to come. iii Contents Acknowledgements and Dedication........................................................................................ i Abstract ................................................................................................................................ ii Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Background and significance ........................................................................................... 1 1.2 Research aim and research questions .............................................................................. 5 1.3 Personal encounter with the uprising and its aftermath .................................................. 6 1.4 Thesis structure ............................................................................................................... 7 Chapter 2: Literature review ................................................................................................ 9 2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 9 2.2 Search strategy ................................................................................................................ 9 2.3 The use of internet and social media for political change in the MENA region .............. 10 2.3.1 Iranian Green Movement: a “Twitter revolution”? ............................................. 10 2.3.2 Tunisian uprising (the ‘Jasmine revolution’) ....................................................... 12 2.3.3 Egyptian uprising (the January 25 Revolution) ................................................... 14 2.4 Libyan uprising (17 February Revolution) .................................................................... 17 2.4.1 Background information on Libya ...................................................................... 17 2.4.2 The Libyan media landscape before the uprising ................................................ 20 2.4.3 The Libyan uprising ............................................................................................ 22 2.4.4 Post-revolution Libya .......................................................................................... 29 2.4 Chapter summary ......................................................................................................... 31 Chapter 3: Theoretical framework ..................................................................................... 32 3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 32 3.2 Habermas’ public sphere: definition and history ........................................................... 32 3.3 Criticism of Habermas’ ideal public sphere .................................................................. 34 3.4 Internet, social media and the networked public sphere ................................................ 36 3.5 The emergence of the new networked Arab public sphere: its potential and challenges 39 3.6 Chapter summary ......................................................................................................... 48 Chapter 4: Research methodology ...................................................................................... 50 4.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 50 4.2 Research philosophical paradigms ................................................................................ 50 4.3 Deductive and inductive reasoning ................................................................................ 53 4.4 Research methods ......................................................................................................... 55 iv 4.5 Data collection procedure .............................................................................................. 57 4.5.1 Interviews ..........................................................................................................
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