From Turmoil to Dissonant Voices: The Web in the Tunisian Thawra

In order to grasp the relevance of the Internet in the Tunisian uprising,this chapter has three sections. Firstly, attention is addressed to the sociologicalripples of new technologies: the Internet has to be understood as alink in a technological chain that, in the hand of skilful users, may be aneffective tool. The second part presents the political and social vacuum ofBen Ali’s regime that made the Internet a safety valve: despite the superficialappearance of democracy, traditional institutions (parties, trade unions,mass media, associations, etc.) were not able to channel dissent due to stronggovernmental obstructionism. Finally, in-depth analysis of selected Tunisianwebsites and blogs highlights their position in the transition phase as a forumof challenge and iconoclasm: the Internet proves to be a medium moresuitable to criticism and questioning than to consensus and agenda-setting.