ABSTRACT
This chapter is a comparative analysis of mediatization and of the role of political activism in two communities of Bahraini origin in London and Denmark, mostly of exiles or descendants of exiles, following the political protests that have continued ever since the 1970s. While some members of these groups are very politically active, in particular in London, and use media to learn about and contribute to news about Bahrain, others try to avoid even following the news, let alone sharing it. The analysis enables a nuanced discussion of the relation between mediatization and the diaspora, as well as of activism and demobilization in the wake of the Arab uprisings of 2011. Following from this, the chapter discusses the question of what counts as activism, with the aim of broadening and expanding this conceptualization. Most of my interlocutors aim to do good for their society, but there are various ways of doing this, of being active. In a similar vein, the chapter points to the multicentric character of diasporas by discussing various ideas about where one can make an impact and in which society that impact should be.
