Virtual Citizenship: Saudis in Clubhouse by Professor Madawi Al-Rasheed (Visiting Professor The Middle East Centre, London School of Economics and Political Science)
Language: Arabic
Like all Gulf nationals, Saudis enjoy limited citizenship that entitles them to travel documents, welfare services and employment in the public sector. However, citizenship as deliberation in the public sphere is seriously curtailed with individuals, civil society, and semi-autonomous organisations are subjected to restriction on their ability to engage in discussion about policy. Any criticism of the government is severely punished as freedom of expression remains limited. As long as citizenship is reduced to obedience, Saudis search for citizenship as deliberation online. Most recently, the Clubhouse application has attracted their attention and has become the platform for virtual citizenship. The presentation analyses their debates and deliberations in this specific virtual community.
The PAVE project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 870769.
The content provided in this webinar reflects the author’s views only. Neither the Research Executive Agency (REA) nor the European Commission are responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.
