In the late 1990s, when initial fieldwork for this book began in Kuwait, the most common response received when asking citizens about their political identity was ‘no comment’ or ‘I'm not that into politics’. Today, citizens in Kuwait and the wider Middle East are increasingly engaged in overt political activity, including widespread labour strikes, frequent protests against corruption, and, as the Arab Springs demonstrate, mass mobilisations to overthrow brutal dictatorships. Why did Arab publics become so agentive and demanding? This book explores the integral role that new media diffusion and use play in empowering Arab citizens, with a focus on the power struggles of everyday life.

A 2013 study by Northwestern University, Qatar, produced evidence of the links between Middle Eastern Internet use and enhanced political engagement. The study included 10,027 respondents from eight Arab nations. A total of 58% of those surveyed felt that they had a better understanding of politics because of their Internet use. Even more surprisingly, 47% felt that their Internet use helped them to have political influence. Likewise, 44% of those questioned felt it was their right to be able to criticise their government online (Northwestern University Qatar 2013). These results are surprising given the authoritarian contexts in which the surveys occurred, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.

Two years later, a follow-up survey asking the same questions about Internet use and political engagement, in the same countries, found that 49% of participants felt they had a right to criticise their government online, an increase of 5%; and 50% felt that Internet use made them more politically effective at influencing their government, an increase of 3% (Northwestern University Qatar 2015). From these results, we can conclude that Internet use makes Arab citizens more likely to express themselves politically, and to feel more agentive; and these feelings of civic engagement increase over time.

Using data on Internet diffusion and use in Kuwait, Jordan and Egypt collected between 1996 and 2014, this book similarly argues that Internet use enhances civic engagement and voice in the Arab world. Increasingly, Middle Eastern citizens demand opportunities for meaningful participation in social and political affairs, and expect education, work and lifestyle choices.