No sooner had the protesters begun to use these technologies for mobilising popular support, the regime began utilising ICTs, and especially the Internet, to expand its political control of society and suppress political dissents. The Iranian experience has raised many questions about the role of the Internet as liberation technology. Is the Internet really an emancipating technology in the people's hands? Clearly, in the case of Iran, the case is ambivalent. While the Internet has helped political activists to expand the Green Movement by increasing their capacity to mobilise the masses and delegitimise the regime, it has also enabled the regime to increase its political control by more easily identifying and suppressing opponents, inducing a sense of fear among the people, and expanding military and paramilitary forces' presence in cyberspace. This paper explains the simultaneous role of the Internet in both the expansion and suppression of the Green Movement in the post-presidential election period.

This paper attempts to illuminate the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the aftermath of the election and in the development of the opposition Green Movement. 'Political Opportunity Structures' - the cornerstone of social movement theories - was adopted as the theoretical framework. We argue that the Internet allowed the Green Movement to enhance its political opportunities through reaching international allies and by weakening the repressive capacity of Iran's regime. Furthermore, the Green Movement used ICTs as an organizational resource to back-up demonstrations and gatherings. The ability of ICTs to promote a collective identity within the Green Movement and to create a discursive opportunity is also discussed.