Dijital Kamusal Alanlarda Mücadele: MENA’da Tabandan Diplomasinin Sınırları ve İmkânları

Year 2025, Volume: 9 Issue: 2, 73 - 94

Gökhan Bozbaş

https://doi.org/10.33709/ictimaiyat.1751414

Abstract

Bu çalışma, Ortadoğu ve Kuzey Afrika’da (MENA) devlet merkezli geleneksel diplomasiyi aşan “tabandan kamu diplomasisi” olgusunu inceliyor. Dijitalleşmenin sağladığı yeni araçları kullanan sivil aktörlerin nasıl karşı‑hegemonik söylemler ürettiği ve bunları küresel ölçekte yaydığı araştırılıyor. Nitel yöntemle yürütülen çalışmada literatür taramasına ek olarak Filistin BDS hareketi, Mısır’daki COP27 insan hakları ve iklim aktivizmi ile Yemen ve Suriye diasporalarının sosyal medya kampanyaları mercek altına alınıyor. Eleştirel söylem ve göstergebilim analizleri, araştırmacının 2011‑2021 arasındaki bölge deneyimleriyle destekleniyor. Bulgular, #BDS, #FreeAlaa, #YemenCantWait ve #SaveAleppo gibi etiketlerin küresel kamuoyu oluşturmadaki gücünü; sembolik görsellerin duygusal mobilizasyon sağladığını; ancak devletlerin gözetim, sansür ve dezenformasyon yöntemlerinin bu etkiyi sınırladığını gösteriyor. Çalışma, Gramsci’nin hegemonya, Habermas’ın kamusal alan ve Fraser’ın karşı‑kamular kavramlarını dijital sahaya uyarlayarak, çok‑aktörlü diplomasi literatürüne katkı sunuyor. Sivil toplumun kalıcı etki yaratabilmesi için dijital kapasite geliştirme, altyapı yatırımı, güvenilir haber mekanizmaları ve uluslararası platformlarda geniş temsiliyet öneriliyor; bölgesel çeşitlilik ve etik veri toplama kısıtları ise gelecekteki araştırmalar için tamamlayıcı alanlar olarak belirtiliyor.

Keywords

Kamu Diplomasisi , Dijital Aktivizm , Karşı Hegemonik Söylemler , Sosyal Medya Kampanyaları , Sivil Toplum

Ethical Statement

Yazar(lar), çalışmanın hazırlanma sürecinde etik ilkelere uyduklarını beyan etmiştir.

Contesting in Digital Public Spheres: Limits and Possibilities of Grass roots Diplomacy in MENA

Abstract

This study examines “grass‑roots public diplomacy” in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), focusing on how civil actors employ digital tools to craft and circulate counter‑hegemonic narratives that transcend state‑centric diplomacy. Using a qualitative design, it combines an extensive literature review with three in‑depth case studies: the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement; human‑rights and climate activism during Egypt’s COP27 summit; and social‑media campaigns led by Yemeni and Syrian diasporas. Critical discourse and semiotic analyses are enriched by the author’s field experience in Egypt, Sudan, Jordan and Tunisia (2011‑2021). Findings show that hashtags such as #BDS, #FreeAlaa, #YemenCantWait and #SaveAleppo galvanise global opinion, while potent symbols-e.g., Omran Daqneesh’s image-enable emotional mobilisation. Yet state surveillance, censorship and disinformation constrain digital influence. By adapting Gramsci’s hegemony, Habermas’s public sphere and Fraser’s counter‑publics to the digital realm, the study advances multi‑actor diplomacy scholarship. Policy recommendations include capacity‑building for civil organisations, investment in secure digital infrastructure, robust fact‑checking, and broader civil‑society representation in international forums. Limitations -regional scope and data collection constraints- highlight avenues for future research.

Keywords

Public Diplomacy , Digital Activism , Counter Hegemonic Narratives , Social-Media Campaigns , Civil Society

Ethical Statement

The author(s) declared that they complied with ethical principles during the preparation of the study.

References

• Aboueldahab, N. (2019). Reclaiming Yemen: The role of the Yemeni professional diaspora. Brookings Doha Center. Retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Reclaiming-Yemen-The-role-of-the-Yemeni-professional-diaspora_English_Web.pdf
• AFP. (2022, November 7). Alaa Abdel-Fattah: Leaders raise case of jailed activist with Egypt's president at COP27. Euronews. https://www.euronews.com/2022/11/07/alaa-abdel-fattah-leaders-raise-case-of-jailed-activist-with-egypts-president-at-cop27
• Ahmed, K. A., & Kareem, E. N. (2019). Al-Diblūmāsiyya al-taqlīdiyya wa al-diblūmāsiyya al-mutaʿaddida al-masārāt, Majallat Kulliyat al-Qānūn lil-ʿUlūm al-Qānūniyya wa al-Siyāsiyya, 31(94), 30–77.
• Al Jazeera. (2022, 31 Ekim). Ma‘a da‘awāt li-muqāṭa‘at sharikat "Puma".. ḥamlat "‘āṣifat at-taghrīd" li-raf‘ al-a‘lām al-Filasṭīniyya fī Mūndiyāl Qaṭar. İstircā‘ fī 23 Temmuz 2025 min.
• Al Jazeera. (2022b, November 11). Biden discusses human rights, climate issues with Egypt’s Sisi. Al Jazeera. Retrieved from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/11/biden-discusses-human-rights-climate-issues-with-egypts-sisi
• Al-Hakimi, A. (2024). The impact of war on youth activism in Yemen. Arab Reform Initiative. Retrieved from https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/storage.arab-reform.net/ari/2024/01/25133810/The_Impact_of_War_on_Youth_Activism_in_Yemen_en.pdf
• Alassaf, A. (2020). Al-Siyasa al-kharijiyya kama tu'radu laha al-hisabat al-rasmiyya al-sa'udiyya abr mawqi' al-tawasul al-ijtima'i Twitter: Dirasah Tahliliyah, Majallat Al-Buhuth Al-Ilamiya, 55(6), 3391-3432.
• Aleessawi, N. A. A. (2022). Al-Istirātījīyāt al-ittisālīyah fī al-diblūmāsīyah al-raqmīyah al-ʿArabīyah: Al-Tawẓīf wa al-mulā'amah, Majallat Ittiḥād al-Jāmiʿāt al-ʿArabīyah li-l-Buḥūth fī al-Taʿlīm al-ʿĀlī, 42(4), 67–87.
• Alhaloui, T. (2020). Al-Diblūmāsiyya al-raqmiyya al-madkhal al-jadīd li-idārat al-siyāsa al-khārijiyya, al-Diblūmāsiyya, 8, pp. 30-60.
• Aljizawi, N., & Anstis, S. (2022, May 27). The effects of digital transnational repression and the responsibility of host states. Lawfare. https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/effects-digital-transnational-repression-and-responsibility-host-states
• Amnesty International. (2022, May 23). Egypt: COP27 should not overshadow human rights crisis in the country (Public Statement MDE 12/5638/2022). Amnesty International. https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/MDE1256382022ENGLISH.pdf
• Andén-Papadopoulos, K., & Pantti, M. (2013). The media work of Syrian diaspora activists: Brokering between the protest and mainstream media. International Journal of Communication, 7, 2185–2206. Retrieved from https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/1841
• Aouragh, M., & Alexander, A. (2011). The Egyptian Experience: Sense and Nonsense of the Internet Revolution. International Journal of Communication, 5, 1344–1358.
• Attiah, K. (2016). Omran Daqneesh and the world's pathetic failures on Syrian refugees. Washingtonpost. com. Bakan, A. B., & Abu-Laban, Y. (2009). Palestinian resistance and international solidarity: The BDS campaign. Race & Class, 51(1), 29-54. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306396809106162
• Barghouti, O. (2021). BDS: Nonviolent, globalized Palestinian resistance to Israel’s settler colonialism and apartheid. Journal of Palestine Studies, 50(4), 108–125. https://doi.org/10.1080/0377919X.2021.1906067
• Beaumont, P. (2019). “Trump vetoes bill to end US support for war in Yemen.” The Guardian, 17 April 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/apr/16/trump-yemen-war-veto-military-aid
• Bot, M. (2019). The right to boycott: BDS, law, and politics in a global context. Transnational Legal Theory, 10(3-4), 421–445. https://doi.org/10.1080/20414005.2019.1672134
• Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019 [Caesar Act], Pub. L. No. 116-92, §§ 7401-7438, 133 Stat. 1198, 2291-2301 (2019).
• Castells, M. (2012). Networks of Outrage and Hope: Social Movements in the Internet Age. Polity Press.
• Chalcraft, J. (2016). Popular Politics in the Making of the Modern Middle East. State and Society, 12(2), 14–28.
• Cheikh, S. B., & Relly, J. E. (2023). Online Activism in Contexts of War: Is There a# MeToo Echo in Libya, Syria, and Yemen? In Violence Against Women in the Global South: Reporting in the# MeToo era (pp. 201-226). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
• CIHRS, (Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies). (2022, September 28). COP27 and the human rights crisis in Egypt. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies. https://cihrs.org/cop27-and-the-human-rights-crisis-in-egypt/?lang=en
• Crisis Action. (2018). Summary of impact: Yemen. Crisis Action Annual Report 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2025, from https://crisisaction.org/annual-reports/2018/#summary-of-impact
• Croeser, E. (2023). COP27 in a warming world beset by multiple crises. Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis, 2(1), 7.
• Cull, N. J. (2009). Public diplomacy: Lessons from the past (Vol. 12). Los Angeles: Figueroa Press.
• Diamond, L., & McDonald, J. (1996). Multi-Track Diplomacy: A Systems Approach to Peace. Kumarian Press.
• Dreyfuss, E. (2016, December 13). The powerless people of Aleppo are tweeting for help. WIRED. https://www.wired.com/2016/12/powerless-people-aleppo-tweeting-help/
• Egyptian Streets. (2016, April 29). #SaveAleppo: Fighting in Syria kills hundreds of civilians. Egyptian Streets. https://egyptianstreets.com/2016/04/29/savealeppo-fighting-in-syria-kills-hundreds-of-civilians/
• Fraser, N. (1990). Rethinking the Public Sphere: A Contribution to the Critique of Actually Existing Democracy. Social Text, 25/26, 56–80.
• Freedom House. (2021). Freedom in the World 2021: Yemen. Retrieved from https://freedomhouse.org/country/yemen/freedom-world/2021
• Gilboa, E. (2008). Searching for a Theory of Public Diplomacy. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 616(1), 55–77.
• Gökçen, A. (2024). Tunus’un Demokratikleşme Süreci Bağlamında Tunus Genel İşçi Sendikası (UGTT). ORAFAM Journal - Muş Alparslan Üniversitesi Ortadoğu ve Afrika Araştırma ve Uygulama Merkezi Dergisi, 2(1), 40-52.
• Gramsci, A. (1971). Selections from the Prison Notebooks (Q. Hoare & G. Nowell Smith, Eds. & Trans.). International Publishers.
• Habermas, J. (1991). The structural transformation of the public sphere: An inquiry into a category of bourgeois society. MIT press.
• Howard, P. N., & Hussain, M. M. (2013). Democracy’s Fourth Wave? Digital Media and the Arab Spring. Oxford University Press.
• Jones, E., & Youngs, R. (Eds.). (2024). Civic activism in an intensifying climate crisis. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved July 23, 2025, from https://carnegieendowment.org
• Keohane, R. O., & Nye, J. S. (2000). Power and Interdependence (3rd ed.). Longman.
• Keohane, R. O., & Nye, J. S. (2017). Power and interdependence. Conflict After the Cold War: Arguments on Causes of War and Peace, 167.
• Kharroub, T. (2016, August 10). The BDS movement and the US media battle. The New Arab. Retrieved July 23, 2025, from https://www.newarab.com/opinion/bds-movement-and-us-media-battle
• L’Etang, J. (2009). Public Relations and Diplomacy in a Globalized World: An Issue of Public Communication. American Behavioral Scientist, 53(4), 607–626.
• Lim, M. (2012). Clicks, Cabs, and Coffee Houses: Social Media and Oppositional Movements in Egypt, 2008–2012. Journal of Communication, 62(2), 231–248.
• Lustick, I. S., & Shils, N. (2022). The Palestinians, Israel, and BDS: Strategies and struggles in wars of position. Israel Studies Review, 37(3), 28–57. https://doi.org/10.3167/isr.2022.370303
• Lynch, M. (2012). The Arab Uprising: The Unfinished Revolutions of the New Middle East. PublicAffairs.
• Melissen, J. (Ed.). (2005). The New Public Diplomacy: Soft Power in International Relations. Palgrave Macmillan.
• Miconi, A. (2020). News from the Levant: A Qualitative Research on the Role of Social Media in Syrian Diaspora.
• Social Media + Society, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305119900337 (Original work published 2020)
• Morgenthau, H., & Nations, P. A. (1948). The struggle for power and peace. Nova York, Alfred Kopf.
• Moss, D. M. (2016). The Arab Spring abroad: Mobilization among Syrian, Libyan, and Yemeni diasporas in the U.S. and Great Britain [Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Irvine]. eScholarship. Retrieved from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8dd2k20p
• Mullen, B. V. (2021). The Palestinian BDS movement as a global antiracist campaign. Interface: A Journal for and about Social Movements, 13(2), 312–322.
• Nasser, A. (2021, February 9). Yemenis still demand their rights. Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR). Erişim: 23.05.2025 https://iwpr.net/global-voices/yemenis-still-demand-their-rights
• Postel, D. (2018, Winter). Progressive surge propels turning point in US policy on Yemen. Middle East Report, 289. Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP). https://merip.org/2019/03/progressive-surge-propels-turning-point-in-us-policy-on-yemen/
• Potter, E. (2009). Branding Canada: Projecting Canada’s Soft Power Through Public Diplomacy. Canadian Foreign Policy Journal, 15(1), 77–94.
• Radwan, A. F., & Ayyad, K. (2024). Digital media’s portrayal of climate change challenges during COP27 climate summit. Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 14(3), e202437.
• Rajvanshi, A., & Serhan, Y. (2024, February 14). What to know about the global boycott movement against Israel. TIME. Retrieved July 23, 2025, from https://time.com/6694986/israel-palestine-bds-boycotts-starbucks-mcdonalds/
• Reed, S. (2019). “Young Yemenis Are Rising Up Against the War—and Washington Is Listening.” Institute for Policy Studies (IPS). ips-dc.org
• Saleh, L. (2024, July 5). Diasporic Syrian activism in the US: Successes and challenges. Syrian Dialogue Center. https://sydialogue.org/en/diasporic-syrian-activism-in-the-us-successes-and-challenges/
• Seib, P. (2008). The Al Jazeera Effect: How the New Global Media Are Reshaping World Politics. Potomac Books.
• Smith, A. (2022, November 9). Egypt: COP27 becomes ‘Free Alaa Summit’ as pressure builds to release British hunger striker. Middle East Monitor. Retrieved July 23, 2025, from https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20221109-egypt-cop27-becomes-free-alaa-summit-as-pressure-builds-to-release-british-hunger- striker/#:~:text=%3E%20It%27s%20a%20,hossamsarhan87%29%20November%208%2C%202022
• Snow, N., & Taylor, P. M. (Eds.). (2009). Routledge Handbook of Public Diplomacy. Routledge.
• Spivak C. G. (1988). Can the subaltern speak? Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture, 271-313.
• Stokke, E., & Wiebelhaus-Brahm, E. (2022). Syrian diaspora mobilization for prospective transitional justice in the absence of transition. Journal of Human Rights, 21(4), 500–516. https://doi.org/10.1080/14754835.2021.2007365
• The New Arab. (2022, November 17). COP27 attendees chant for Alaa Abdel Fattah release during rousing plenary in Egypt. The New Arab. Retrieved July 23, 2025, from https://www.newarab.com/news/free-alaa-free-them-all-cop27-delegates-show- solidarity#:~:text=Journalists%20and%20activists%20have%20reported%C2%A0online,Getty%2Farchive
• Tufekci, Z. (2017). Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest. Yale University Press.
• Yadav, S. P. (2018, Winter). Roundtable: Three women activists advancing peace in Yemen. Middle East Report, 289. Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP).
• Zaharna, R. S. (2010). Battles to Bridges: US Strategic Communication and Public Diplomacy after 9/11. Palgrave Macmillan.
• Zayani, M. (2005). The Al Jazeera Phenomenon: Critical Perspectives on New Arab Media. Paradigm Publishers.