چرایی و کارکردهای شبکه‌های اجتماعی اپوزیسیون سیاسی عربستان سعودی؛ مطالعه موردی اصلاح‌طلبان و لیبرال‌ها

This study examines the role of social networks in the political activism of reformist and liberal movements in Saudi Arabia. Given the severe restrictions of the government structure and the closed political space, social networks have become the most important arena for the opposition to raise demands and activism. The study was conducted using a descriptive-analytical method and a mixed qualitative-quantitative approach and examined the political content published on social networks during the years 2000 to 2024. The data were analyzed using content analysis, network analysis, and hashtag frequency analysis.

The findings show that features such as decentralization, high speed of publication, and the possibility of users remaining anonymous have made social networks the main arena for Saudi opposition activism. The most important content themes include women's rights, political justice, criticism of the governance structure, and civil liberties, and the highest user interaction has been observed in campaigns related to women's rights. Network analysis suggests a multi-node structure in which actors outside the country play a pivotal role and anonymous domestic accounts link the inside and outside. Overall, social networks have become a platform for the production of discourse,

Introduction

The political and social developments in Saudi Arabia over the past two decades have shown profound changes in the form of activism of social forces. The authoritarian structure of governance, centralized control of official media, severe restrictions on freedom of expression, and the lack of institutionalized political participation mechanisms have led Saudi reformist and liberal movements to rely more on social networks than any other arena to express their demands, criticize the power structure, and organize social mobilization. This space, which is inherently based on the speed of information circulation, reducing the cost of political action, and the possibility of creating decentralized networks, has become the most important arena for opposition activism. The present study aims to analyze the reasons and functions of social networks in the activism of the Saudi political opposition—focusing on reformists and liberals—and, while examining the structural, discursive, and communicative dimensions of this space, analyzes how the opposition strategically uses the capacities of digital media.

Theoretical Framework

The theoretical foundations of this research are based on a set of communication and social approaches that explain the role of social networks in opposition political activism. First, Habermas’s theory of the public sphere shows that in authoritarian societies, social networks act as an “alternative public sphere” and provide the possibility of dialogue, critique of power, and the formulation of political demands outside the control of official media. In such an environment, Saudi reformist and liberal currents have been able to produce alternative discourses on women’s rights, political justice, and civil liberties. Second, Castells’ theory of the network society considers social networks as a platform for the free flow of information and the redefinition of power relations. According to this view, the Saudi opposition uses the decentralized and transnational structure of networks to circumvent government restrictions, organize digital campaigns, and attract domestic and international support. This space has led to the formation of a kind of "multi-cluster" activism that is not dependent on a single leader or organization and is based on a distributed network of active users.
3.Methodology
The study methodology is based on a descriptive-analytical and mixed (qualitative-quantitative) approach. The research population includes all political content related to Saudi reformist and liberal movements on social networks during the years 2000-2024, and sampling was carried out in a purposive-criterion-based manner. In the qualitative stage, key themes of the opposition discourse were identified using thematic analysis. In the quantitative stage, network analysis was used to extract the link structure of actors, centrality indices, and the type of connection between internal and external accounts. In addition, using hashtag frequency analysistemporal trends, message dissemination patterns, and peaks of digital campaign activity were examined.

Results and Discussion

The research findings show that the Saudi opposition’s reliance on social media can be summarized in four key factors:
1)The decentralized and resilient structure of the networks, which prevents the government from fully controlling activists;
2) The possibility of anonymity for users, which greatly reduces security costs and allows citizens inside the country to participate;
3) The speed and breadth of content dissemination, which provides the opportunity to quickly organize digital campaigns;
4)Access to a global audience, which allows Saudi Arabia’s domestic issues to be highlighted in international media.
In examining the content produced, four dominant themes were observed:

Women’s rights – including criticism of patriarchal policies, demands for the abolition of social restrictions (such as the male guardianship system), and support for detained female activists;
Justice and political reform – including calls for political participation, free elections, institutional accountability, and limitations on centralized power;

3.Criticism of the governance structure – including criticism of economic policies, corruption, bureaucratic inefficiency, and structural inequality;

Civil liberties and human rights – including freedom of expression, the right to form associations, and protest against government security measures.

Based on network analysis, the structure of opposition activism can be described as multi-nodal and decentralized. Some central nodes—mainly exiled journalists, human rights activists, and political analysts abroad—play the role of guiding the discourse and producing central messages. In contrast, many anonymous accounts inside the country play the role of “connector nodes,” reinforcing the connection between the inside and outside by re-broadcasting messages. This pattern suggests that the Saudi opposition relies on a distributed, repression-resistant network structure that reduces its dependence on a specific leader or organization.
Hashtag frequency analysis also suggests that opposition digital campaigns, especially at critical moments—such as the arrest of female activists, new restrictions on freedom of expression, legal changes, or major political events—have been accompanied by a multi-fold jump in user engagement. Many of these campaigns have been able to convey the opposition’s messages to global media and influence domestic political discourse. The active presence of Saudi users in campaigns such as hashtags supporting women’s rights, protesting human rights violations, or criticizing economic policies shows that social networks are not only tools for information dissemination, but also channels of social and political pressure. Overall, the research results show that social networks have become the main platform for digital political activism for the reformist and liberal Saudi opposition; A platform that simultaneously enables the production of critical discourse, mass mobilization, documentation of political events, the creation of communication networks between inside and outside, and the formation of the collective identity of the opposition. These findings indicate that in the conditions of limiting formal political spaces, digital activism has found an alternative and evolved role and has gradually become one of the most effective tools of the Saudi opposition to express demands and resist political authority.

Conclusions & Suggestions

Overall, the results of the study show that social media has become the main platform for digital political activism for the Saudi liberal and reformist opposition; a platform that simultaneously enables the production of critical discourse, mass mobilization, documentation of political events, the creation of communication networks between inside and outside, and the formation of the collective identity of the opposition. These findings indicate that in the conditions of the restriction of official political spaces, digital activism has found an alternative and evolved role and has gradually become one of the most effective tools for the Saudi opposition to express demands and resist political authority...