The Iraqi Spring - Social Media and Political Activism

Since 2003 and following the U.S.-led invasion, Iraq witnessed tremendous changes to its political, social, and economic structures, and this book critically maps recent popular protests that engulfed the country and led to the death of thousands of civilian protesters. It delves into the nuances of the Iraqi socio-political context and offers a brief historical overview of political activism by investigating the internal structure of activism in the country as well as the regional and international dimensions. The study involves critical ethnographic research including interviews with Iraqi activists, social media analysis, Arabic and English news analysis, as well as in-depth assessment and contextualization of the Iraqi protests. The author argues that there is a need to call the protests an "Iraqi Spring" because of the country's unique historical, demographic, and political circumstances.

List of contents

Preface, Introduction, Chapter 1. Political Activism and the Iraqi National Identity, Chapter 2. The Socio-Political Context After 2003, Chapter 3. Social Media, News, and Information Operations in Iraq, Chapter 4. Political Activism and Civil Resistance in the 2019 Protests, Chapter 5. Iraqiness in Political Activism: The Case of the 2011 and 2019 Protests, Chapter 6. Conclusion, Index.

About the author

Dr. Ahmed Al-Rawi is an Associate Professor of News, Social Media, and Public Communication at the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University. His research interests are related to news, global communication, misinformation, and social media with emphasis on the Middle East and Canada.

Product details

• Authors: Ahmed Al-Rawi
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Release: 01.12.2025
• EAN: 9781041188278
• ISBN: 978-1-041-18827-8
• No. of pages: 178
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History; Social sciences, law, business > Media, communication > Media science; History, Media Studies, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Media Studies, POLITICAL SCIENCE / World / Middle Eastern, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Process / Media & Internet, Humanities, Pressure groups, protest movements and non-violent action, Demonstrations & protest movements, iraq;arab spring;protests;social media;mobile apps