This study aims at exploring the rhetorical processes underpinning condolences, as expressed by Saudi Arabian governmental authorities on social media, with a focus on Twitter. Taking its starting point in January of 2015, when the Charlie Hebdo shooting took place in Paris, this study looks comparatively at several acts of terror in order to answer whether these different attacks elicited different responses, and if so, what knowledge can be drawn from this conclusion. Furthermore, this study examines the role of social media in public diplomacy, and in the production and distribution of political discourse, especially as it relates to statements of condolences and expressions of solidarity mediated through twitter. In order to explore this, rhetorical criticism (Mral 2008; Foss 2004; Peirce 2003) is combined with pentadic criticism (Burke 1945) and performativity theory (Rosenberg 2018; Zivi 2016; Gregson and Rose 2014) to form the methodology. A key theoretical concept in this study is “grievability,” which aims at understanding why some deaths are grieved and others are not (Butler 2009; Butler 2004; Butler 2003). As this study shows, mourning itself can be understood as rhetoric, serving political and diplomatic functions rather than being an expression of actual, sincere solidarity or grief. This study also shows that tweets from official government sources can be seen as a performance of public diplomacy, and as performative of the official’s own position. Lastly, it is argued that offering condolences are a way to purchase “humanitarian capital,” which is becoming increasingly important in global politics.
This study utilizes ethnographic methods to inquire how ideas of masculinities are perceived by English-language media professionals and media audiences in Egypt. Using semi-structured interviews and a survey, the aim is to find common narratives on how masculinity is perceived on personal levels and what terms are used to describe men and masculinities, which in turn can be used as the basis for further analysis of Egyptian media content. The word “narrative” in itself is used to convey personal experience, and the telling of those experiences, rather than generalizable data applicable to the larger population. Found are several common themes, such as emphasized heterosexuality, and the expectation of men as providers and protectors, which is related, by the respondents, to the nation and the military. Protection and militarism relates to ideas of strength, honor, and courage. Men are almost exclusively seen as possessors of power. The ‘head of the household,’ and the head of state, both portrayed as iconized leaders, emerge as the quintessence of Egyptian masculine identity, whether that identity is contested or not.
The chapter provides a brief overview of the development of the broadcasting sector in Egypt, demonstrating the significance of this sector in promoting the ideologies and policies of Egypt’s successive regimes, beginning with Nasser’s through al-Sisi’s governments. Although the sector was subjected to liberalization, under Mubarak’s rule, state television still dominated the broadcasting sector and controlled the dissemination of public information and news. When private licenses were granted, the new private stations were barred from engaging in newsgathering, and those who overstepped this line quickly lost their licenses. The hope for political changes after the overthrow of Mubarak has largely dissipated, as media censorship has continued under the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) and the Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsi, and it has intensified under al-Sisi’s presidency.
This study aims to investigate the connection between concepts of masculinity and militarism in Egyptian online press. In order to avoid reification of stereotypical, orientalist constructions of Arab men as villains or oppressors, this study does not look at men in the typical sense, either as individuals or as a group, but as gendered subjects, socially constructed through performativity. Furthermore, this study is grounded in material derived from four months of ethnographic field studies in Cairo, exploring the understanding of masculinities by Egyptian media audiences and media professionals. The purpose of this study, as such, is to locate ‘militarised masculinity’ within Egyptian online press; to explore how militarism and notions of masculinity become entangled and what role the media plays in perpetuating this entanglement. Seeing how the military is an institution of state-sanctioned violence, combined with a rigid, normative representation of men and a shunning of ‘deviant masculinities’ in media, it is possible that a celebration of (ideal) masculinity as militaristic is related to issues of violence against women, and persecution of non-heterosexual men. In a time when media personalities are actively working with the police to ‘hunt’ gay men, and publicly expose those seen as deviating from ‘traditional’ or ‘hegemonic’ masculinity, it is today even more important to examine Egyptian media, in regards to minority and gender representation as well as hegemonic discourse.
In the summer of 2013, millions of Egyptians returned to Tahrir square in Cairo to demand the resignation of the country’s first democratically elected president. This article examines the two key terms mainly used to describe the ousting of President Mohamed Morsy, ‘coup’ and ‘revolution’, and how these terms can be understood as arguments for two different interpretations of the event. Particular focus is given to the press corps of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, which reveals a discrepancy between the interpretation of Scandinavian online press and the Egyptian majority, meaning that the Scandinavian press corps is telling a story that is not recognized by those it is about. While many media producers speak of a severe polarization, it is found that the divide is actually small in number, but grows over time, raising questions about journalistic practice and media ethics. It is concluded that Scandinavian reporting on the Middle East needs to be seriously evaluated and reformed in order to improve its credibility.
Denna studie bygger på etnografiskt material insamlat i Kairo, under hösten 2014. Med hjälp av semi-strukturerade intervjuer och internetenkäter undersöks hur maskulinitet(er) talas om och beskrivs i vardagliga sammanhang, samt hur maskulinitet uppfattas i relation till dess medierepresentation.
This article examines the radicalization of politics in the 1990s leading up to the al-Aqsa intifada, also known as the Second Intifada. A study of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement, Kach, and Kahane Chai reveals that the violence of these radical groups is not necessarily senseless rebellions against oppression but could instead be seen as calculated efforts to obstruct the peace process, suggesting that unsuccessful negotiations and a subsequent turn to violence are not failures of the peace process but are instead deliberate attempts to undermine it. Understanding the motivation behind acts of terror in Israel and Palestine today and its role in radicalization is crucial in countering terrorism and highlighting the road to peace.
Var det en revolution eller en statskupp? Den tredje juli, 2013, avsattes egyptens första demokratiskt valda president, och sedan dess har media kämpat med vad de ska kalla händelsen. Revolution eller statskupp, det är frågan.