The relationship between social movements and social media : the example of the tahrir protests

Abstract EN

This article examines the Tahrir protests in the context of New Social Movements (NSMs) and resource mobilization and argues that the Tahrir protests can be assessed within the framework of these movements.

The literature review presented evaluates how NSMs became conceptualized after different theoretical debates took place and how NSMs depart from conventional models.

The main argument of this article is that due to its dynamics, the Tahrir protests present a new social movement model.

It is further illustrated how social media plays an important role in the organization and diversification of information sources of social movements.

It is claimed that while social media is not the absolute determinant in social movements, it brings abour structural reforms such as the elimination of the hierarchical relationship model, the tendency of acting without a leader, and granting social movements autonomy.