The Role of Social Network Platform in Egyptian's Political Upheaval in January 2011

Abstract

Social network platforms are tools, which are not just utilized for entertainment, but also serve as a multiple purposed tool in other areas, including politics. Egyptians have utilized these tools to communicate, coordinate, and bring about mass protests, since 2010. Drawing on the theoretical concepts of the public sphere and communicative action of Habermas, with the new public sphere and network society this paper examines the role of SNSs during the Arab Spring in Egypt. The lit review assumes that SNSs are causes of political upheavals. The article, however, argues that the SNSs are simply an instrument for communication and mobilization of people in the Egyptian 25th January political uprising.

Keywords

• Social Network
• Public Sphere
• Communicative Action
• Arab Spring
• Egypt