Human rights, state crimes and social networking

In January 2011, the rising number of protests and revolutions in North Africa and Middle East represented a significant issue of human rights protection to the whole world. Typical revolutionary countries, such as Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, have similar political regimes and historical social conflicts. One speciality in these revolutions was that social networks, especially those on the internet, played a key role in their outcomes. The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of new communication technologies on protecting human rights from state violations. The thesis explores human rights in their historical context, while aiming to contribute to an understanding of how the new communication technologies, such as social networking, promote human rights protection. A discussion of the concept of \state crime\" and \"state defined political crime\" highlights the blocking of human rights protection in particular countries. This thesis analyses the impact of social networking on human rights protection against the state through a case study of the recent Egyptian revolution. It provides an extended analysis of advantages of social networking and concludes with a theoretical explanation of its impact on human rights protection."