Social media and the nation state: of revolution and collaboration

Abstract

This article examines the legal infrastructure of social media governance in the politically contested context of contemporary Turkey. It looks at how social media companies (specifically, Twitter and Facebook (FB)) and the nation state (Turkey) have negotiated power in the aftermath of Gezi Uprising in Summer 2013. I argue that while today’s concerns regarding online surveillance might echo the calls for a new world information order of the 1970s, the world system model based on the core–periphery distinction has considerably changed. The useful insights of cultural imperialism fall short of explaining the geopolitical context within which Turkey finds itself in the aftermath of the Arab Uprisings and the sub-imperial relations within which she struggles to establish hegemony in the region. Findings suggest that the Turkish state tries hard to establish the legal and material infrastructure for these companies’ operations. FB is more open to cooperation with the nation state, while Twitter has chosen to legally negotiate with the government. There also seems to be major risk for activists given the contradictory articulation of nation state and corporate interests.