Applying the "Hybrid Space" theory to the February 14 Bahraini Movement

Mass-media, satellite and TV networks, the Internet and social media networks or social media have played a significant role in the modern social movements of the world. One of these countries is the Bahrain archipelago, which has been faced protests and movements influenced by youth activity in Internet. The Bahraini youth invited people to the movement during Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions and the developments in Libya, through the social networking of the movement, leading the movement, but ultimately failed leading the movement. The present study seeks to analyze the "Hybrid Space" theory proposed by Manuel Castells through a descriptive-analytical method based on library data and elite interviews, then to evaluate to matching rate of this to the recent movement of Bahrain, called “14 February Movement”. The main question of research is describing of the theory of Hybrid Space and it`s use in the February 14 Bahraini movement. The sub-queries of this article also explain how far the Internet and social networking sites have affected the February 14 Bahraini movement? Which social network has been central to the developments in Bahrain in 2011? What factors led to the failure of the February 14 Bahraini Movement to win? The findings suggest that the Hybrid Space that includes social networks and the general and symbolic space in movements has played a significant role in the February 14 Bahrain Movement and has been well implemented. The Bahraini government, after discovering the hybrid space influence in the cause of the February 14 Bahrain Movement, by interrupting the interruption of the Internet and destroying the Lulu Square as a symbolic and public space of the movement, sought to control the Hybrid Space to suppress the February 14 movement.