Revisiting leadership in information and communication technology (ICT)-enabled activism: A study of Egypt's grassroots human rights groups. (May 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Azer, Evronia; Harindranath, G; Zheng, Yingqin
• Other Names: Mohamed Eid guest-editor.; Douai Aziz guest-editor.; Iskandar Adel guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: New media & society. Volume 21:Number 5(2019)
• Page Start: 1141
• Page End: 1169
• Publication Date: 2019-05
• Subjects: Arab Spring -- connective leadership -- contemporary social movements -- cyberactivism -- grassroots human rights groups -- information and communication technology–enabled movements -- social movement leadership; Mass media -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Mass media and culture -- Periodicals; Information technology -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Internet -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; 302.2305
• DOI: 10.1177/1461444818821375
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1461-4448

Abstract

Scholars argue that contemporary movements in the age of social media are leaderless and self-organised. However, the concept of connective leadership has been put forward to highlight the need for movements to have figures who connect entities together. This study conducts a qualitative research of 30 interviews of human rights groups in the 2011 Egyptian revolution to address the question of how leadership is performed in information and communication technology–enabled activism. The article reconceptualises connective leadership as decentred, emergent and collectively performed, and provides a broader and richer account of leaders' roles, characteristics and challenges.