MacKinnon (2011) ‘China’s “Networked Authoritarians”’, Journal of Democracy, 22(2), 32–46

Control: The Future of Cyberspace’ Journal of Democracy, 21(4), 43–57 Diamond (2010) ‘Liberation Technology’, journal of Democracy, 21(3), 69–83 Schmidt and Cohen, The New Digital Age, chapter 2.

Brown (2013) ‘Egypt’s Failed Transition’, journal of Democracy, 24(4), 45–58. Putnam (2011) ‘Still Bowling Alone? The Post-9/11 Split’, journal of Democracy, 21(1), 9–16. A Developmental Approach (Boston: Little, Brown & Co.), p. Hussain (2011) ‘The Role of the Digital Media’, journal of Democracy, 22(3), 35–48. Masoud (2011) ‘The Road to (and from) Liberation Square’, journal of Democracy, 22(3), 20–34.įor more on the role of the digital media in the events in both Tunisia and Egypt, see P.N. Social Movements in the Internet Age (Cambridge, UK: Polity Press), p. Castells (2012) Networks of Outrage and Hope. Reshaping the Future of People, Nations and Business (New York: Alfred A. We consider this process as one of the key steps to attain effective interest aggregation, which in turn is conducive to regaining social cohesion and the formation of new imagined communities. We conclude that social media holds huge promise for democracy in the capacity of interest articulation but falls short with interest aggregation. This section is closed by outlining what we consider to be the conditions for the creation of new imagined communities and of the contribution the data analysis method we developed hold in this field. The brief surge of the Occupy Wall Street movement, replicated in many cities throughout the world, is also notable, both for its global manifestation and for its fleeting existence. Current impacts are dramatically demonstrated in the social movements of the Arab Spring, with Tunisia and Egypt as the leading examples. In this chapter we return to the theme of democracy and its social base.

Examples of imagined communities