Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest

8vo, hardcover in dj, pp.326. o understand a thwarted Turkish coup, an antiñWall Street encampment, and a packed Tahrir Square, we must first comprehend the power and the weaknesses of using new technologies to mobilize large numbers of people. An incisive observer, writer, and participant in todayís social movements, Zeynep Tufekci explains in this accessible and compelling book the nuanced trajectories of modern protestsóhow they form, how they operate differently from past protests, and why they have difficulty persisting in their long-term quests for change. Tufekci speaks from direct experience, combining on-the-ground interviews with insightful analysis. She describes how the internet helped the Zapatista uprisings in Mexico, the necessity of remote Twitter users to organize medical supplies during Arab Spring, the refusal to use bullhorns in the Occupy Movement that started in New York, and the empowering effect of tear gas in Istanbulís Gezi Park. These details from life inside social movements complete a moving investigation of authority, technology, and cultureóand offer essential insights into the future of governance.