Activists, Individualists, and Comics: The Counter- publicness of Lebanese Blogs

摘要

This article examines whether the ways Lebanese bloggers blur the boundaries between the national and transnational, the formal and informal, and entertainment and politics can be described as counter-publics. We focus on the ten most popular individual blogs in Lebanon during the time period April 2009-2010, noting bloggers' mutual connectivity and links to online media in Lebanon. We then analyze themes common to these blogs, focusing specifically on how Lebanese bloggers question the norms and push the boundaries of what can be said mediated public sphere. While there are differences between the bloggers not least due to whether they are writing in Arabic or English-almost all explicitly criticize the current sectarian system, human rights violations, as well as existing religious, gender and environmental norms. Whether they see themselves as cosmopolitan or locally based activists, a significant minority uses humor and political satire as key elements in their blogs.