This book introduces four waves of upsurge in digital activism and cyberconflict. The rise of digital activism started in 1994, was transformed by the events of 9/11, culminated in 2011 with the Arab Spring uprisings, and entered a transformative phase of control and mainstreaming since 2013 with the Snowden affair.

Performing Media Activism in the Digital Age breaks new ground by conceptualizing activism as a performance extending beyond public space and the moment of public gatherings to consider the more extended view of social or political movements as mediated social connections. The book utilizes primary data extracted from social media platforms by applying a social network analysis (SNA) approach to the people, organizations, and media that are trying to advance their particular agendas, with an eye toward a better understanding of the ways in which social movements operate in a networked society. The goal of social network analysis is to identify social structures within a movement such as communities or clusters and it seeks to locate influence within those structures. Social network analysis as applied to media activism represents an interdisciplinary field that encompasses social psychology, sociology, as well as graph theory, which should suggest this book will be of interest to scholars and students in these and related fields. In the digital age, social network analysis represents a paradigm shift as analytical and data visualization tools can be applied in an interdisciplinary manner. By combining data science and sociology or cultural anthropology, one has the means to visualize networks of individuals and organizations engaged in a social movement, to see how movements are organized (structured) into communities, clusters, and niches, and to visualize power structures within social movements to see who is influencing a network over extended periods of time.

This book offers fresh insights on digital activism and cyberconflicts through a comparison of sociopolitical and ethnoreligious movements in Nigeria. Occupy Nigeria, Boko Haram and The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) highlight the digital and organizational aspects of conflict mobilization in contemporary Nigeria.

From the emergence of digital protest as part of the Zapatista rebellion, to the use of disturbance tactics against governments and commercial institutions, there is no doubt that digital technology and networks have become the standard features of 21st century social mobilisation. Yet, little is known about the historical and socio-cultural developments that have transformed the virtual sphere into a key site of political confrontation. This book provides a critical analysis of the developments of digital direct action since the 1990s. It examines the praxis of electronic protest by focussing on the discourses and narratives provided by the activists and artists involved. The study covers the work of activist groups, including Critical Art Ensemble, Electronic Disturbance Theater and the electrohippies, as well as Anonymous, and proposes a new analytical framework centred on the performative and aesthetic features of contemporary digital activism.

Virtual Identities and Digital Culture investigates how our online identities and cultures are embedded within the digital practices of our lives, exploring how we form community, how we play, and how we re-imagine traditional media in a digital world. The collection explores a wide range of digital topics – from dating apps, microcelebrity, and hackers to auditory experiences, Netflix algorithms, and live theatre online – and builds on existing work in digital culture and identity by bringing new voices, contemporary examples, and highlighting platforms that are emerging in the field. The book speaks to the modern reality of how our digital lives have been forever altered by our transnational experiences – one of those key experiences is the pandemic, but so too is systemic inequality, questions of digital privacy, and the role of joy in our online lives. A vital contribution at a time of significant social and cultural flux, this book will be highly relevant to those studying digital culture within media, communication, cultural studies, digital humanities, and sociology departments.

Dealing With Regional Conflicts of Global Importance offers a comprehensive examination of the post-Cold War global landscape, focusing on the outbreak and escalation of local and regional conflicts that have far-reaching implications. From the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan to the civil war in Ethiopia's Tigray Region and the Russia-brokered peace agreement in the Caucasus, these conflicts have shaped the international stage and pose significant challenges to global stability. Policymakers and profes sionals in the fields of current affairs and security studies can find essential tools in this book for understanding and addressing the violent conflicts occurring since 1991. Drawing on geoeconomics, geopolitics, security studies, and humanitarian perspectives, Dr. Pio tr Pietrzak, an expert in International Relations Theory, Conflict Resolution Strategies, and International Law, delves into the roots of competition and cooperation among states. He explores influential concepts and debates, including Francis Fukuyama's "The End of History," Samuel Huntington's "Clash of Civilizations," and Joseph Nye's notion of Soft Power, to provide a theoretical and analytical framework for comprehending the complexities of global power dynamics. Covering an array of topics, from the regionalization of conflict and intervention to the role of international institutions, this book examines interactions between The United Nations, World Bank, Regional Organizations Like Cbss, VYSEHRAD Group, and Asean, and Geopolitical Actors Such as the Europan Union, Russia, CH Ina, and the united states. It Also Delves Into Critical Issues Such as Human Rights, Genocide, WARTIME, WARTIME sexual violence, and the concept of humanitarian intervention.

As media environments and communication practices evolve over time, so do theoretical concepts. This book analyzes some of the most well-known and fiercely discussed concepts of the digital age from a historical perspective, showing how many of them have pre-digital roots and how they have changed and still are constantly changing in the digital era. Written by leading authors in media and communication studies, the chapters historicize 16 concepts that have become central in the digital media literature, focusing on three main areas. The first part, Technologies and Connections, historicises concepts like network, media convergence, multimedia, interactivity and artificial intelligence. The second one is related to Agency and Politics and explores global governance, datafication, fake news, echo chambers, digital media activism. The last one, Users and Practices, is finally devoted to telepresence, digital loneliness, amateurism, user generated content, fandom and authenticity. The book aims to shed light on how concepts emerge and are co-shaped, circulated, used and reappropriated in different contexts. It argues for the need for a conceptual media and communication history that will reveal new developments without concealing continuities and it demonstrates how the analogue/digital dichotomy is often a misleading one.