Digital Nationalism: The Rise of Baloch Separatist Narratives on Social Media (2020–2025)

Abstract

This study examines the phenomenon of digital nationalism in the Baloch separatist struggle. The study looks at the use of social media contacts to build a separatist narratives, in the years, 2020 to 2025. We draw upon both digital nationalism and framing theories temporally to understand the actual characteristics of Baloch digital activism, and the Baloch dorganisation, as found on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and Telegram. We use qualitative content analysis and digital ethnography, where we focus on how the frames of 'victimhood', 'state repression', 'cultural legitimacy', and 'transnational solidarity' range from the Tik Tok and hashtagged, daily persistence of Baloch digital activism to the ongoing, long lived collective memories of state repression across the Baloch diaspora. The findings suggest that Baloch sepraitsts engaged binge each of the identified frames, but the role of diaspora activists stood out in the collaborative work to develop online spaces for the Baloch nationalism, alternatively: for the visual dissent related to the locally produced media, and nationalist agendas, as the evidence indicates that the use of digital media uniquely construct and amplify diaspora brings. While these digital spaces offer visibility and coherence for the Baloch nationalist cause, they also invite state disavowal, state repulsion, censorship of accounts of and processes of distance from state interactions and distance from the Baloch cause via the polarisation of the collective digital space. In terms of conclusions; these frames provides actions solutions for inclusive dialogue, that move toward disruption of diverse digital rights, and most of importantly locally rooted counter-narratives. Overall, this study contributes to the wider understanding of the characteristics of online insurgency and identity politics, and the role of state–society relations in opened potentially digitally mediated conflicts.