Cyber activism: the information revolution, political actors and the potential for regime transition

Abstract

This thesis addresses the role of information communication technologies and the internet in explaining modern revolutions. While previous scholarship has analyzed the significance of social movements and the potential of citizen actors to cause regime change, it has yet to systematically examine the importance of these new technologies for communicating ideology and coordinating protest. By examining four instances of modern political mobilizations (1980 - present), this thesis attempts to elucidate the conditions under which modern communications technologies play a significant role in the outcomes of political mobilization.