Civic Engagement in Exile: Exploring Social Media Presence of Dissidents From Bangladesh

Abstract

The emergence and the consequent popularity of social media in the 21st century have given dissenters living in exile an unprecedented opportunity to stay involved in domestic debates and disseminate information to local and international audiences. From an authoritarian context, the rebellious voices from exiled spaces are considered threats for building external pressure on the regime. In contemporary Bangladesh, the right to exercise freedom of expression is increasingly curtailed by various state-sponsored repressive measures, forcing many dissidents to leave the country. But many of them are continuously participating in civic affairs taking place in the digital sphere of the society they physically left behind. Why and how do certain exiled dissidents influence public discourse in Bangladesh through social media platforms? This is a vital question that drives the qualitative ethnographic research which employs interviews of five exiles and analysis of their social media usage from May to October 2020.