From Airwaves and Newsprint to Tweets and Text: The Use of Various Forms of Media by Actors Engaged in Political Violence
Creators: name: Dorsett, Matthew
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2015

description: In their 1994 book Small Media, Big Revolution, Annabelle Sreberny-Mohammadi and Ali Mohammadi wrote about their experiences within the Iranian revolution of the 1970s, and how media such as pamphlets, flyers, local artists, and the major news media all contributed to the revolution. This sparked an idea as to whether or not there was some inherent connection between revolutions and media. The original focus of this thesis was to look at the various ways that revolutionaries throughout time have utilized various forms of media to spread their message. This thesis was also born from the concept that revolutions were ideological happenings, which were based on new ideas that challenged the status quo. 
It became clear, however, that there was another aspect to be explored, and that was technology. It would have been difficult to understand media use in revolutions throughout various generations without having to deal with the fact that technology that was available for some was not there for others. Therefore, instead of taking a vertical look through history, the focus of this thesis changed to a more horizontal one, in which revolutions would be compared to other types of political violence from around the same time. 
This thesis will look at different types of political violence, and the ways that actors involved in these types of violence attempt to mobilize potential supporters and communicate with target audiences. This thesis is concerned with non-state actors; specifically revolutions, insurgencies, and terrorists. First, the three types of political violence will be defined. Several definitions from various sources will be explored from different literature. The types of political violence will then be given an “ideal” definition based on the goals, means, and organization into which, according to this thesis, most instances of revolution, insurgency and terrorism fit. It is important to note, however, that not all instances of political violence will fit these ideal types. The types of mobilization and communication that are expected under this thesis will then be laid out. 
The three cases that will be examined in this thesis are the Tunisian Revolution, the Kosovo Liberation Army, and al Qaeda. The Tunisian Revolution, which is viewed as the revolution that really started the Arab Spring, was heralded as a social-media revolution. The fact that the Internet was so developed by the time of the Tunisian Revolution made it a perfect case to compare against those of the KLA and al Qaeda. Al Qaeda was chosen because of the large amount of literature available in the United States on al Qaeda. This group was also chosen because it existed during the earlier stages of the Internet, on which terrorist groups regularly posted videos to YouTube and gained followers through Facebook. The KLA was chosen because of the fact that it took place in the late 1990s, and provides a good example of political violence before the major Internet boom. The United States’ involvement in the KLA crisis also helped research, as there is considerable critical literature in English about the insurgency that took place in Kosovo. The languages that the sources are in have proven to be a challenge to overcome, and each of these examples had a plethora of literature in English.