Book Launch: “Twitter Activism in Iran” by Hossein Kermani

Abstract:

"Twitter Activism in Iran: Social Media and Democracy in Authoritarian Regimes" by Hossein Kermani (Palgrave, 2025) investigates Twitter activism in authoritarian regimes, with particular attention to Iran. The platform has been blocked in Iran since the 2009 presidential election and its subsequent protests, the Green Movement. Nevertheless, Iranians have been continually using it to date. Recently, another significant hashtag movement unfolded in Iran after the death of Mahsa Amini. But it is only an instance of how Iranians employ Twitter to fight a dictatorship. Given the unique context of Iran as a non-democratic society with a high number of Twitter users, this book tries to explore how Iranian users participate in politics, challenge the regime, mobilize their protests, and shape anti-regime discourses. It also examines the strategies that the Iranian regime takes to dismantle Twitter activism. Moving from the book, the lecture will further discuss the dynamics of the current uprising and brutal state repression in Iran.

Find further information on the book here. 

Hossein Kermani is a senior researcher at the Political Communication Research Group of the University of Vienna, Austria. He studies social media, digital repression, computational propaganda and political activism in restrictive contexts, with particular attention to Iran. He is the principal investigator of the BeyondCBA project, which is funded by WWTF.

Gi Yeon Koo is a HK professor at Seoul National University Asia Center, South Korea. Gi Yeon Koo’s current interest focuses on Islamophobia in Korea, Muslim migration and refugee in Korea, Media and Social Movements in Iran, Young Generation’s Popular Culture, and Iranian Women.