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A Virtual Ethnographic Study of Online Communication and Democratic Behavior in the Sudan's Diaspora

Mudawi, Abuobeida A.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1448971939

Abstract Details

2015, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, Mass Communication (Communication).
This virtual ethnographic study was about online communication and the democratic behavior in the Sudan’s diaspora. It investigated the possibility of expanding the diasporic political public sphere among Sudanese diaspora by using the six requirements formulated by Licoln Dahlberg (2001a) for a rational-critical discourse of online deliberation of political public issues. The Sudanese diasporic online communities was a product of migration of large number of Sudanese to the Gulf States, the United States, and other regions due to the repressive political environment and bad economic conditions in Sudan and their connection to the Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in host societies. I used three methods of data gathering: online survey, online semi-structured in-depth interviews, and online participant observation. The findings of this study have shown that online communication provided diasporic communities with current political information. Sudanese online diasporic members used this political information in holding online political deliberations that enabled them to have freedom of expression and to establish civil society associations. The study found that although some scholars claimed that the provision of political information was not enough to realize political change, the political information that Sudanese diasporic online users got from the website `sudaneseonline.com’ was crucial for depriving the current Sudanese Government from claiming democracy, for revealing corruption, for recognizing the manipulation of the Constitution and civil service. Undemocratic governments were keen to control the amount and the type of information their populations can get. The obtaining of political information was a significant factor in undermining undemocratic governments, which employ the resources of the state, including manipulated constitutions and judiciaries, to deprive their populations from acquiring political information, which is a human right according to international, regional, and local laws. Political online deliberations among Sudanese diasporic users have shown some negative behaviors such as the usage of abusive language and defamation. `Sudaneseonline.com’ website was characterized by the sole proprietary ownership structure, which may affect the efficiency of the website in terms of freedom of expression, enforcement of laws and regulations of the Discussions Board, continuity, and technical advancement.
Steve Howard (Committee Chair)
217 p.
African History; Communication; Journalism; Mass Media; Multimedia Communications; Political Science
Online Communication; Online Deliberations; Virtual Ethnography; Freedom of Expression; Civil Society Associations; Diasporic Political Public Sphere; Sudanese Online Communities

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Mudawi, A. A. (2015). A Virtual Ethnographic Study of Online Communication and Democratic Behavior in the Sudan's Diaspora [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1448971939

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Mudawi, Abuobeida. A Virtual Ethnographic Study of Online Communication and Democratic Behavior in the Sudan's Diaspora . 2015. Ohio University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1448971939.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Mudawi, Abuobeida. "A Virtual Ethnographic Study of Online Communication and Democratic Behavior in the Sudan's Diaspora ." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1448971939

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ohiou1448971939
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This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.