The Arab World

After the so-called 'Twitter Revolutions' in Moldova and Iran, the international media coined the term 'Facebook Revolution' to depict the most popular, world-wide, social media platform as a condition sine qua non for the Arab revolutions. There is little doubt that social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as content sharing platforms such as YouTube and Flickr, played a signicant role in countries with severe restrictions on freedom of expression. However, the implications of new tools like these for media systems and political landscapes of individual countries and entire regions remain uncertain and can only be determined through systematic research and analysis.
On May 16, 2012 international and German scholars from various disciplines and institutes came together in Bonn to discuss their research results. This third annual DW Akademie Media Dialogue focused on 'The Role of Media in the Arab World’s Transformation Process'.