Digital Middle East : State and Society in the Information Age

In recent years, the Middle East's information and communication landscape has changed dramatically. Increasingly, states, businesses, and citizens are capitalizing on the opportunities offered by new technologies, the fast pace of digitization, and enhanced connectivity. These changes are far from turning Middle Eastern nations into network societies, but their impact is significant. The growing adoption of a wide variety of technologies in everyday life has given rise to complex dynamics that beg for a better understanding. Digital Middle East sheds a critical light on the continuing changes closely intertwined with the adoption of information and communication technologies in the region. Drawing on case studies from throughout the Middle East, the contributors explore how these digital transformations are playing out in the social, cultural, political, and economic spheres, exposing the various disjunctions and discordances that have marked the advent of the digital Middle East.

"Mohamed Zayani has gathered an impressive array of experts to analyze the impact of information and communication technologies in Middle Eastern societies. This book will be of great value to anyone interested in the evolution of civic culture in the Middle East." - Philip Seib, Professor of Journalism, Public Diplomacy, and International Relations, University of Southern California, author of The Al Jazeera Effect: How the New Global Media Are Reshaping World Politics

"This is a timely and important book that offers a rich, interpretive and comparative account of how different countries and actors across the Middle East adapted and adopted new media technologies. It will be an important resource for scholars, students and policy-makers interested in understanding digital transformations in the region." - Dr Dina Matar, Senior Lecturer in Arab Media and Political Communication, SOAS, author of The Hizbullah Phenomenon: Politics and Communication