Syrian Online Spaces of Possibilities
Abstract
Wars and armed conflicts disrupt the social and cultural fabric of affected communities and create a culture of violence that smashes people’s sense of normalcy and security. In this article, I examine the strategies employed by Syrian journalists and media activists to sustain online media initiatives as a form of cultural resistance against armed conflict and dominant discourses of violence, sectarianism, and exclusion. In the context of the Syrian war and displacements, I highlight the experiences of three Syrian small-scale media initiatives: Enab Baladi (Local Grapes), Radio Rozana, and ARTA FM. Drawing on interviews with media leaders and digital ethnography, I conceptualize these initiatives as “online spaces of possibilities” and define them as fields of cultural production that offers a culture of possibilities embedded in the actual online and offline media practices of journalists and media activists who navigate capitalist technological structures and violent cultural environments to produce positive affects of affinities, connections, and political possibilities. The findings identify key strategies that enabled these case studies to achieve success and sustainability, while producing content that challenges dominant narratives of war and peace. These strategies include inter?organizational collaboration, audience-responsive content creation, efforts toward financial self-sustainability, and the development of broad networks of correspondents.
Community Discourse
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