Digital Dissensus

Beschreibung

This books discusses the idea of ‘Digital Dissensus’, a concept that proposes rethinking the relationship between social media and politics through a different understanding of democracy. This is because the way we approach the relationship between social media and politics is largely shaped by how we understand democracy and the political. To date, approaches seeking to explain this relationship have predominantly taken liberal democracy as their point of departure, evaluating political experiences emerging in digital spaces within this framework. By contrast, this book treats democracy not as one of the criteria for analysing social media, but as its point of departure. Rather than judging political experiences in digital spaces according to the established standards of liberal democracy, it asks what forms of inequality, exclusion, and contradiction these experiences render visible within the existing order. Could rethinking democracy lead us to see the relationship between social media and politics differently? Starting from this question, the book takes Jacques Rancière's understanding of politics and democracy, shaped around the concept of dissensus, as its theoretical point of departure for understanding the political experiences of the digital age. However, the digital sphere is not regarded merely as a field in which Rancière's theory can be applied. Rather, the book argues that the new political experiences emerging in the digital age raise new questions that both extend and require a reconsideration of this approach. The Gezi Park protests, the Mahsa Amini protests, and the Occupy Wall Street movement are therefore approached not simply as examples of social movements, but as political experiences that invite reflection on the question of what digital dissensus renders visible. Yelda Yürekli is an independent scholar based in Ankara, Türkiye. She received her PhD in Journalism from Ankara University in 2025. Her doctoral dissertation examines the relationship between social media and democracy through the lens of J. Rancière’s political theory, using comparative case studies of the Gezi Park protests in Turkey, the Mahsa Amini protests in Iran, and the Occupy Wall Street movement in the United States.

This books discusses the idea of ‘Digital Dissensus’, a concept that proposes rethinking the relationship between social media and politics through a different understanding of democracy. This is because the way we approach the relationship between social media and politics is largely shaped by how we understand democracy and the political. To date, approaches seeking to explain this relationship have predominantly taken liberal democracy as their point of departure, evaluating political experiences emerging in digital spaces within this framework. By contrast, this book treats democracy not as one of the criteria for analysing social media, but as its point of departure. Rather than judging political experiences in digital spaces according to the established standards of liberal democracy, it asks what forms of inequality, exclusion, and contradiction these experiences render visible within the existing order. Could rethinking democracy lead us to see the relationship between social media and politics differently?

Starting from this question, the book takes Jacques Rancière's understanding of politics and democracy, shaped around the concept of dissensus, as its theoretical point of departure for understanding the political experiences of the digital age. However, the digital sphere is not regarded merely as a field in which Rancière's theory can be applied. Rather, the book argues that the new political experiences emerging in the digital age raise new questions that both extend and require a reconsideration of this approach. The Gezi Park protests, the Mahsa Amini protests, and the Occupy Wall Street movement are therefore approached not simply as examples of social movements, but as political experiences that invite reflection on the question of what digital dissensus renders visible.

Autor*in

Yelda Yürekli

Themen in »Digital Dissensus«

Social Media Democracy Jacques Ranciére Politics Digital activism Political subjectivation Mahsa Amini Protests Occupy Wall Street Movement Gezi Park Urban

Stimmen zu »Digital Dissensus«

“Yelda Yürekli offers a timely intervention into debates on social media, democracy, and political subjectivation. By bringing Rancière’s notion of dissensus into conversation with Gezi, Occupy Wall Street, and the Mahsa Amini protests, the book opens a fresh path for understanding digital politics beyond both naive techno-optimism and sceptical pessimism.” (Cenk Saraçoğlu, Professor of Sociology, Ankara University, Türkiye)

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