A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of Warwick Permanent WRAP URL: http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/110966 Copyright and reuse: This thesis is made available online and is protected by original copyright. Please scroll down to view the document itself. Please refer to the repository record for this item for information to help you to cite it. Our policy information is available from the repository home page. For more information, please contact the WRAP Team at: [email protected] warwick.ac.uk/lib-publications Social Media and Democratization in Iraqi Kurdistan since 2003 By Munir Hasan Mohammad A thesis submitted to University of Warwick in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy July 2018 Abstract A considerable amount of literature examines the impact of the Internet and social media on the practice of democracy in liberal democratic contexts and on the democratization process in nondemocratic contexts. However, little is known about the rise and implications of using the Internet and social media platforms for democratization process in a hybrid political system, like that of Iraqi Kurdistan, which combines elements of both democracy and authoritarianism. This study asks: how does the rise of the Internet and social media platforms influence democracy and democratization in Iraqi Kurdistan? To this end, the study assesses both the relationship between the use of social media platforms by citizens, politicians, electoral candidates, and political parties, as well as political participation and political communication, which are selected as important elements of democratization. It specifically examines the use of social media through three case studies: the Slemani protest movement in 2011; political discussion between citizens and party leaders of two political parties, the Patriotic union of Kurdistan (PUK), and the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU); and the 2013 parliamentary elections. The study is based on original qualitative interviews with activists, politicians, and party leaders, and an analysis of relevant social media content in the Kurdish language, especially on the social media platform, Facebook. The thesis finds that social media platforms facilitate political participation and political communication in terms of reducing the constraints for organizing and coordinating collective action. They also facilitate political discussion between party leaders and citizens, and provide more access to relevant information for citizens. Furthermore, they expand the scope of freedom of speech by providing opportunities to discuss political i issues and other issues of common interest, and facilitate the dissemination of information by electoral candidates and reduce campaign costs. However, the thesis argues that the increasing ease of political participation and political communication, as a result of social media usage, should not be equated with democratization. This is because those in power also use social media but in ways that are counter-productive to democratization. For example, security forces use social media to monitor and gather information about citizens and social movement activists; Political parties and their leaders also use online and social media platforms to distribute pro-party propaganda and to launch online attacks on political rivals, spreading a culture of hatred, violence and nondemocratic values, rather than promoting the discussion of policy issues and government decisions. Election candidates use online resources primarily to win a seat in parliament and empower their campaign rather than engaging with voters in a way that generates productive, healthy, rational, and deep political conversation. ii Table of Contents Declaration………………………………………………………………………..vii Acknowledgments ................................................................................................. viii List of Abbreviations .............................................................................................. ix Chapter 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1 1 The Research Background and Rationale ...................................................... 1 1.1 A Background to Iraqi Kurdistan and Politics 2 1.2 Significance of the Internet and Social Media for Iraqi Kurdistan 7 2 The Research Questions and Objectives ...................................................... 15 3 The Thesis Argument ..................................................................................... 16 4 Thesis Structure and an Outline of the Chapters ........................................ 18 Chapter 2 The Internet, Social Media, Democracy, and Democratization: Literature Review, Theoretical Framework, and Methodology ................................... 23 1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 23 1.1 Democracy and Democratization 24 1.2 Social Media 35 2 Literature Review ........................................................................................... 36 2.1 Social Media and Democracy in Democratic States 36 2.2 Social Media and Democracy in Authoritarian States 43 3 Impact of the Internet and Social Media on Democratization ................... 47 3.1 Political Participation 49 3.1.1 Political Participation as an Influencing Attempt ...................................... 51 3.1.2 Political Participation as Political Discussion ............................................ 60 3.2 Political Communication 69 4 Methodology .................................................................................................... 78 4.1 The Epistemological and Methodological Paradigm 79 4.2 The Research Design 83 4.3 Methods of Data Collection 86 4.4 Considerations of Ethical Issues 89 4.5 The Data Analysis 91 Chapter 3 Democracy and Democratization in Iraqi Kurdistan: an Overview ................ 93 iii 1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 93 1.1 The Creation of IK 93 1.2 The 1991 Kurdish Uprising 96 2 The Challenges of the Democratization Process in IK (1991-2003) ........... 98 3 Democracy and Democratization in IK: 2003 and beyond ....................... 106 3.1 IK’s Democratic Features 106 3.2 Failures of Democratic Transformation in IK 107 3.2.1 Power Sharing ............................................................................................ 108 3.2.2 Peaceful Transition of Power .................................................................... 110 3.2.3 Institutionalization and the Power of Democratic Institutions .............. 113 3.2.4 Corruption and Failed Administration .................................................... 115 3.2.5 The Rule of Law and Accountability ........................................................ 119 3.2.6 Media and Freedom of Speech .................................................................. 122 4 The Emerging Change Movement (Bzutnaway Goran) and the Opposition Front .............................................................................................................. 126 5 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 131 Chapter 4 Social Media, Social Movements and Democratization: The Case of the Slemani Movement in 2011 .......................................................................... 132 1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 132 2 Understanding the Slemani Movement in 2011: Context and Development ........................................................................................................................ 134 2.1 The Implications of the Arab Spring 134 3 The Impact of Social Media on the Slemani Movement ........................... 142 3.1 Social Media, Communication, Mobilization, and Coordination strategies in the Slemani Movement 143 3.2 Social Media, Citizen Journalism and the Spread of Information in the Slemani Movement 149 3.3 The Risks of Social Media to the Slemani Movement 156 4 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 161 Chapter 5 Social Media, Political Discussion, and the Kurdish Political Parties: The Case of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) .................................................................................................. 164 1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 164 2 A Brief Background about the PUK and the KIU .................................... 166 2.1 The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) 166 2.1.1 The Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) ......................................................... 168 iv 3 The PUK, the KIU, the Internet, Social Media, and Political discussion 171 3.1 The Online Background of Both Parties 171 3.1.1 The PUK ...................................................................................................... 171 3.1.2 The KIU ....................................................................................................... 174 3.2 The Internet, Social Media, and Political Discussion: the PUK and the KIU in Comparative Perspective 178 3.2.1 Party Websites ............................................................................................ 178 3.2.2