Author: Jawhar al-Jamusi

Place of publication: Beirut, Lebanon

Date of publication: 2016

Publisher: Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies

No. of pages: 224

The term “civil society” has circulated widely in the Arab World in the past few years, playing a pioneering role in the Arab Revolutions of 2011 onwards. This term is still trying to prove itself and its influence on Arab public opinion. The main credit for this influence has belonged to modern electronic media, which has shown a surprising efficacy to secure the success of these revolutions and a capacity to mobilize the masses in different ways.

Jawhar al-Jamusi’s The Virtual and the Revolution fits within this general context, seeking an understanding of the conflict between political authority and civil authority in contemporary Arab societies, and specifically the problematic of the relationship between what is civil and what is political in transitional periods.