Popular protests from Tunisia and Egypt to Bahrain and Libya have shaken the Middle East's established order to its roots. Are they evidence of the political power of social media? Have the internet, Facebook, Twitter, and other innovations ushered in a revolutionary new era in global politics?

Watch the discussion with new media guru Clay Shirky, Anne-Marie Slaughter, former director of policy planning at the State Department, and Editor Gideon Rose. Foreign Affairs magazine hosted this event on March 31, 2011 at the Council on Foreign Relations.