Printemps arabe : de l’imaginaire au réel. Les moyens d’information et de communication font la révolution

Abstract

This article shows how, in the sudden “Arab Awakening” and its domino effect as it spread from country to country, means of information and communication in an age of transparency and simultaneity opened up a sphere for action that could potentially trigger an uprising against dictatorship. But although the social networking sites – especially Facebook –, text messaging and emails gave citizens the means to revolt, there is also the question of the imagination that created that terrain. The 24-hour news channels in the Arab world, especially Al Jazeera, nourished the revolutionary imagination with telegenic images and especially a “ friendly” and often protective informational discourse that, in parallel, inspired people with courage and ideas after decades of slumber, galvanising them into action.