The Digital Double Bind

Essential reading not only for those specializing in the Middle East, but for anyone concerned with the impact of the digital revolution more generally. Never before in history has cutting-edge technology gone straight to all sectors of the world and en masse to the less-privileged as well as the affluent. The consequences in a sub-continent in which tradition and engrained structures of power remain strong are complex indeed, but brilliantly traced out by the authors. * Anthony Giddens, Life Fellow of King's College, Cambridge, and Member of the House of Lords in the UK *
Zayani and Khalil offer a welcome and significant contribution to our critiques of discourses that simplify and essentialize 'digital' and 'Middle East.' This volume deftly moves beyond binaries, creatively proposing a double bind framework that invokes fluid movements of people and technologies. It is a critical reminder that communication needs to be understood in historical and social contexts, as well as global political and economic structures. * Karin Wilkins, author of Prisms of Prejudice *
In this skillfully written and thought-provoking book, Zayani and Khalil take readers to a Middle East few Westerners know. Complex, conflicted, and creative, the region, as this important work describes, is accelerating into the information age with big plans and even bigger uncertainties. * Vincent Mosco, author of The Smart City in a Digital World *
Zayani and Khalil's comprehensive and conceptually ambitious review of media in the Middle East makes an important and much-needed contribution to debates on technology and regionalization generally. This is a landmark study in the de-westernization of media research. We have needed a book like this for a long time! * Nick Couldry, London School of Economics and Political Science *
In bringing together so many aspects of the digital turn in the Middle East, this book contributes to our understanding of how various areas of digital engagement-from blogs to esports, from e-government to cybercrime-have developed there, as well as how these disparate areas connect in a broader, but deeply variegated, digital ecosystem. It would be a valuableaddition to courses focused on Middle East politics, economics, society, and religion, in addition to communications-specific courses. * Andrea Stanton, Project Muse *
The Digital Double Bind provides a thorough overview of the digital transformation in the Middle East, highlighting the region's unique challenges and opportunities. This book is a must-read for scholars and practitioners interested in the intersection of technology, politics, and culture in the Global South. * William Lafi Youmans, International Journal of Communication *
The book presents a well-researched, theoretically rigorous account of digital transformations in the Middle East. The book excels in offering a culture-specific theoretical analysis of digital media transformations, prioritizing 'locally grounded' and 'culturally embedded' tensions and contradictions over external analytical frameworks. * Arash Ghajarjazi, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television *
The Digital Double Bind is a notable addition to the growing literature on the Arab world's digital turn because it warns us against simplifying the effects produced by new technologies. This takeaway is an important reminder for scholars studying the relationship between mass communication and social transformations in and beyond the Middle East. The book is rich in scope and innovative in explaining the region's encounter with the digital through the double bind. This bird's-eye-view analysis is a good entry point for those who want to explore the multifaceted technological transformations in the contemporary Arab world. * Egor Korneev, Critical Studies in Media Communication *
The Digital Double Bind serves as a timely reminder of the complexities and contradictions that mark technologicalprogress. By situating the digital Middle East within a unique socio-political and cultural context, Zayani and Khalil invite readers to rethink prevailing narratives of technological determinism. Their work is a valuable resource not only for scholars of media and communication, Middle Eastern studies andglobal digital politics, but also for policy-makers and practitioners navigating the challenges of digital governance in the Global South. * Mohammad Ayish, Journal of Digital Media & Policy *
Digital information and communication technologies have upended virtually all aspects of life in the last 30 years. Zayani and Khalil trace the profound if uneven impact of this technological revolution across the Middle East. * Lisa Anderson, Foreign Affairs *
This fascinating and well-researched book is an essential and powerful reading for anyone interested in a deeper understanding of the nuances of the digital, cultural and political developments in the Middle East and the Global South. * Haifa Souilmi, European Journal of Cultural Studies *
The Digital Double Bind departs from traditional approaches, offering a refreshing and insightful analysis of the region's digital evolution and its many complex facets. This book stands out as a deeply researched and multifaceted academic contribution, tackling a wide range of interrelated themes with a rare combination of nuance and depth… For scholars and readers interested in the Global South, particularly the MENA region, The Digital Double Bind offers a breath of fresh air and an unbiased analysis of the evolving media landscape. * Farah Rasmi, Thesis Eleven *
Zayani and Khalil have produced an astute, complex and insightful study of the Middle East's dynamic and eclectic digital cultures which, like elsewhere, continue to dazzle, distract and constrain. * Zoe Hurley, Participations: Journal of Audience and Reception Studies *
The book represents a remarkable achievement in synthesizing intricate phenomena that articulate in complex and often paradoxical ways. * Jaana Serres, Global Perspectives *
The Digital Double Bind highlights the irreducible complexity of the digital and thus its ability to support both change and stasis, across the cultural, economic, political, religious, and societal arenas of the Middle East. * Andrea Stanton, Technology and Culture *
The authors have crafted a thoughtful and perceptive examination of the region's rapidly evolving digital cultures. Their book uncovers a complex interplay of the influences and limitations of these dynamic digital environments, emphasizing how they can shape and sometimes restrict the experiences and expressions of individuals within the region. * Noha MellorNoha Mellor, Journal of Arabian Studies, Journal of Arabian Studies *
The Digital Double Bind is an invaluable seminal contribution for scholars, policymakers and anyone keen to understand the interplay between technology, society and change in the Middle East and the Global South. * Thara Weiss, Orient *
The Digital Bind is a valuable contribution to the study of digital transformation in the MENA region. Zayani and Khalil offer a nuanced analysis of the complex and often contradictory forces shaping the region's digital landscape. For scholars and practitioners interested in the intersection of tech­nology, culture and politics, The Digital Bind is an essential read. * Mohamed Ben Moussa, Journal of Applied Journalism & Media Studies *
At its heart a historically anchored, empirically supported conceptual approach for examining how the region adapted and adopted the digital turn, The Digital Double Bind is an excellent contribution to the Oxford Studies in Digital Politics series. * Randall Fowler, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media *
The book excels in offering a culture-specific theoretical analysis of digital media transformations, prioritizing 'locally grounded' and 'culturally embedded' tensions and contradictions over external analytical frameworks. * Arash Ghajarjazi, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television *
This work stands out as a unique contribution to the study of digital transformations in the Middle East, both for its originality and the breadth of its multi-level analysis…. The book makes a valuable contribution to understanding ICTs in the Middle East, making it essential for scholars and policymakers interested in the region's digital future. * Mostafa Shehata, Revue des mondes musulmans et de la Méditerranée *