The Internet and Politics

Agenda for Today

New Social Movements: defined

Examples

Impact of the Internet

Questions about NSMs

Core concepts & the Internet’s effects

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New social movements

unconventional political behaviour

“Movements…are better defined as collective challenges by people with common purposes and solidarity in sustained interaction with opponents and authorities.” – Tarrow

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Examples:

environmentalism

gay & lesbian rights

feminism

civil rights movement

peace movement

Solidarity (Poland)

anti-globalization movement

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Impact of the Internet

NSMs well-positioned to take advantage of Net because of:

outsider status

high information costs

high coordination costs

global diffusion

every aspect of NSMs potentially affected

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Questions about social movements:

How do social movements emerge?

Why do individuals participate in movements?

How do movements choose their tactics?

What determines the size of the movement?

What affects the success of the movement?

Why do movements collapse or end?

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Core concepts

Political Opportunity Structures

Frames

Cycles of Protest

Resource Mobilization

Repertoires of Protest

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Political Opportunity Structures

Protest/resistance more or less difficult at different times.

3 dimensions: degree of openness/closure of formal

political access degree of stability or instability of political

alignments availability of potential allies/partners

Internet dramatically changes the P.O.S. especially in repressive regimes e.g. Indonesia, Philippines

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Frames

how people understand the meaning of the movement

includes goals, values, identities

part of what recruits people to the movement

hotly contested

Internet disperses control over movement framing

e.g. environmentalist discussion

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Cycles of Protest NSMs have a typical life course:

start with clashes between early challengers and authorities

other social actors align with one or the other side

process accelerates: additional organizations/movements form methods of protest are diffused

protest widens and becomes more socially encompassing

Internet accelerates the cycles of protest e.g. MAI

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Resource Mobilization

success depends ability to mobilize resources via:

professional organizers political entrepreneurs financing/funding

Net makes resource moblization both less and more crucial

fewer barriers to entry e.g. Changing the Climate

greater returns to resource investments

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Repertoires

forms of protest have to be invented

e.g. sit-ins, marches, culture jamming

different repertoires associated with different movements

Internet has expanded the repertoire with:

e-mail petitions

online sit-ins and marches

hacktivism

e.g. Black Thursday

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Discussion