CYBERPROTEST: NEW MEDIA, CITIZENS AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS; ED. BY WIM VAN DE DONK

Ever since the anti-globalisation protests in Seattle in 1999 the adoption of new information and communications technologies (ICTs) by social movement activists has offered the prospect for the development of global cyberprotest. The Internet with its transnational many-to-many communication facility offers a revolutionary potential for social movements to go online and circumvent the 'official' messages of political and commercial organisations and the traditional media, by speaking directly to the citizens of the world. Furthermore the use of electronic mail (e-mail), mailing lists, websites, electronic forums and other online applications provide powerful media tools for co-ordinating the activity of often physically dispersed movement actors. Moreover, ICTs may also contribute to the important function of social movements of shaping collective identity and countering the claims and arguments of established political interests. A growing body of literature during the last decades of the twentieth century attests to the significant impact SMs have had upon the restructuring of the political landscape. Most of that literature addresses the more traditional actors and institutions (e.g. parliaments, political parties, bureaucracy etc.). Less attention has been devoted to those manifestations of political action that are concentrated around social movements and all kinds of more or less institutionalised and sustainable forms of citizen mobilisation. This book is a collection of cases that take a critical look into the way ICTs are finding their way into the world of social movements Book Cover......Page 1 Half-Title......Page 2 Title......Page 3 Copyright......Page 4 Contents......Page 5 Contributors......Page 7 Foreword......Page 10 Preface......Page 15 1 Introduction......Page 18 Social movements theories: the role of communication and mobilization......Page 22 Communication as a tool of resource mobilization......Page 23 Communication as structured interaction with external reference groups......Page 25 Ideology, identity and persuasion aspects of communication......Page 26 Issues......Page 29 Strategies and forms of activities......Page 30 ICTs and social movements: preliminary observations......Page 32 An overview of explorative case studies presented in this volume......Page 33 Notes......Page 37 Part I Changing the levels and domains of political action......Page 40 2 The quadruple ‘A’......Page 42 Theoretical framework......Page 43 Social movements and their audience......Page 44 Mass media and their audience......Page 46 The interplay between movements and mass media......Page 47 The quadruple ‘A’: four social movement reactions to a lack of media resonance......Page 48 Changes over time......Page 49 Media and progressive movements since the 1960s......Page 50 Movement-controlled media......Page 51 Critique of the established press......Page 52 The creation of counter-publics......Page 53 Movement-controlled media......Page 55 Interactions with the ‘establishment’......Page 56 Transnational movements against neo-liberal globalization......Page 58 Summary......Page 61 Notes......Page 63 3 Politicizing Homo economicus......Page 66 The internet and the relation between citizens and corporations......Page 70 Empirical focus and research questions......Page 71 How are the purpose, cause or values of the websites presented and justified?......Page 72 Who is the initiator and manager of the website?......Page 73 Who is the object of the protest?......Page 80 How are the characteristics and opportunities of the internet utilized?......Page 81 What role does the internet play in the activities of the organization or movement?......Page 82 Conclusion......Page 83 4 Informing, communicating and ICTs in contemporary anti-capitalist movements*......Page 86 Modes of communication......Page 88 From Indymedia to the European Counter Network......Page 90 Information overload......Page 92 Can knowledge be managed in social movements?......Page 95 Part II Changing strategies and stratagems......Page 102 5 New media, new movements?......Page 104 Before Seattle: the MAI and the first signs of virtual resistance......Page 106 The battle of Seattle: ‘We win’......Page 107 After Seattle: from WTO to IMF, EU, G8.........Page 108 Data reduction: from ICTs to websites......Page 109 Data selection: 17 websites......Page 111 Content analysis: what is anti-globalization for different organizations’?......Page 112 Websites: a new means for real or virtual mobilization?......Page 116 Linking websites: one network?......Page 118 Conclusion: globalization, social movements and the internet......Page 121 Notes......Page 123 6 Communicating global activism......Page 126 Identity in distributed social networks......Page 128 A new politics suited to distributed communication networks......Page 129 Rethinking the organization of protest networks......Page 131 evelopment of member organizations .........Page 132 Permanent campaigns and political organization......Page 133 Communication in diverse networks is ideologically thin......Page 135 Organizational transformation through network demands......Page 137 Moving on to other networks as a protective strategy......Page 138 Specific task organizations that produce successor networks......Page 139 Organizations transformed by their internal communication networks......Page 140 New media can alter information flows through mass media......Page 141 Conclusion......Page 144 East Timor: think local and act global......Page 146 Why study the pro-East Timor movement and the use of ICTs in it?......Page 147 The pro-East Timor movement: a social movement?......Page 148 The role played by the traditional mass media and journalists......Page 149 The role played by new media......Page 153 The outcome......Page 156 and new media .........Page 158 Note......Page 160 8 ATTAC(k)ing expertise......Page 162 The internet: a tool devoted to expertise......Page 166 The knowledge gap......Page 169 Quasi-expert discussions......Page 171 Notes......Page 174 Part III Citizenship, identity and virtual movements......Page 176 9 The Dutch women’s movement online......Page 178 Organizational characteristics......Page 180 Internet uses by existing ‘physical’ organizations......Page 181 Virtual organizations......Page 182 Effects of internet use......Page 183 Selection of cases......Page 184 Grassroots organizations with an internal and an external function......Page 185 Representative organizations......Page 188 Virtual organizations......Page 189 Conclusions......Page 191 Grass roots organizations with an internal and an external function......Page 193 Supportive organizations......Page 195 Virtual organizations......Page 196 10 Dis@bled people, ICTs and a new age of activism......Page 198 The development of the international disability social movements......Page 199 The development of the Portuguese disability social movement and GUIA’s context of emergence......Page 202 Models of SMOs: social movements, identity politics and framing analysis......Page 204 owards ‘access’ and ‘accessibility’ core values .........Page 206 Mobilizing for change: setting up a virtual modus operandi through the internet......Page 211 Conclusions......Page 216 Notes......Page 217 Use of the internet by social movements......Page 220 Identity-building in social movements......Page 222 The Queer Sisters and its electronic bulletin board......Page 223 A sense of ‘we’......Page 225 Consciousness......Page 228 An oppositional culture......Page 232 Implications of identity on the bulletin board for mobilization......Page 234 Role of the Queer Sisters in identity-building on the bulletin board......Page 235 Conclusion......Page 238 Notes......Page 241 Farm women and their emerging political identities......Page 242 Gender and the social construction of technology......Page 245 Methodology......Page 246 The technosocial landscape of AWiA......Page 247 Australian Women in Agriculture Online......Page 248 The construction of technology by AWiA members......Page 252 A new space for political engagement?......Page 253 Conclusion......Page 254 Bibliography......Page 256 Index......Page 282 This Book Critically Assess How Icts Are Finding Their Way Into The World Of Social Movements, Considering Overarching Issues And Providing Examples Of Cyberprotest Movements From Across The Globe. It Will Be Valuable Reading For Students And Academics In Politics, Media And Communication, Public Administration, Sociology And Ict. It Will Also Be Of Great Interest To Policy Makers And Social Activists.--jacket. 1. Introduction : Social Movements And Icts -- 2. The Quadruple 'a' : Media Strategies Of Protest Movements Since The 1960s -- 3. Politicizing Homo Economicus : Analysis Of Anti-corporate Websites -- 4. Informing, Communicating And Icts In Contemporary Anti-capitalist Movements -- 5. New Media, New Movements? The Role Of The Internet In Shaping The 'anti-globalization' Movement -- 6. Communicating Global Activism : Strengths And Vulnerabilities Of Networked Politics -- 7. Mass Media Driven Mobilization And Online Protest : Icts And The Pro-east Timor Movement In Portugal -- 8. Attac(k)ing Expertise : Does The Internet Really Democratize Knowledge? -- 9. The Dutch Women's Movement Online : Internet And The Organizational Infrastructure Of A Social Movement -- 10. Dis@bled People, Icts And A New Age Of Activism : A Portuguese Accessibility Special Interest Group Study -- 11. The Queer Sisters And Its Electronic Bulletin Board : A Study Of The Internet For Social Movement Mobilization -- 12. Politics And Identity In Cyberspace : A Case Study Of Australian Women In Agriculture Online. Edited By Wim Van De Donk ... [et Al.]. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [276]-305) And Index.