Digital world war : Islamists, extremists, and the fight for cyber supremacy

**A seasoned diplomat with deep knowledge of Islamist politics and digital innovation draws the first clear picture of the unprecedented impact of online networks** Social media has dominated the discourse of recent events in the Muslim world—from the Arab Spring and its aftermath to ISIS’s online recruitment. Yet the roles of social media in these events and the use of the dark web, hacking, and digital attacks have received little attention. Haroon Ullah investigates the unprecedented impact of social media across the Middle East, North Africa, and South and Southeast Asia and demonstrates how it has profoundly changed relationships between regimes and peoples, and within populations—mostly, but not always, for the better. He considers its apparent inherently “democratic,” anti-establishment revolutionary impact, as well as how religious conservatives and extremists have co-opted various platforms. He goes on to show how political parties, corporations, and governments have learned to exploit digital tools to target and mobilize audiences, to ultimately achieve power and status. Identifying key trends across the Muslim world, Ullah outlines what a proper understanding of social media can teach us about regional and international politics and diplomacy. The role of social media in the events of the Arab Spring and its aftermath in the Muslim world has stimulated much debate, yet little in the way of useful insight. Now Haroon Ullah, a scholar and diplomat with deep knowledge of politics and societies in the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, draws the first clear picture of the unprecedented impact of Twitter, Facebook, and other means of online communication on the recent revolutions that blazed across Muslim nations.

The author carefully analyzes the growth of social media throughout the Muslim world, tracing how various organizations learned to employ such digital tools to grow networks, recruit volunteers, and disseminate messages. In Egypt, where young people rose against the regime; in Pakistan, where the youth fought against the intelligence and military establishments; and in Syria, where underground Islamists had to switch alliances, digital communications played key roles. Ullah demonstrates how social media have profoundly changed relationships between regimes and voters, though not always for the better. Looking forward he identifies trends across the Muslim world and the implications of these for regional and international politics.