Social Movements and Social Networks: Introduction

In this Introduction we provide a brief literature review of work on social networks and social movements, a brief introduction to certain key concepts and debates in social network analysis, and a brief introduction to the articles which follow in the special issue.     

Once More With Feeling: Ethnographic Reflections on the Mediation of Tension in a Small Team of Call Centre Workers

This article explores the labour process of a team of call‐centre workers based in a multi‐client call centre in the West Midlands. Founded on the basis of a 13‐month ethnographic study into workplace resistance in call‐centre environments, this article provides insights into control in call centres, focusing on sexuality, internal team dynamics and discipline. It is argued that control is exerted through management and information technology but it is crucially exerted laterally in the team and sexuality is an important medium of such control. This article focuses specifically on how worker sexuality is deployed to regulate the tension between contradictory imperatives faced by workers. The article then considers the emotional content of the call‐centre labour process, arguing that the apparent resolution of potentially contradictory logic, in fact, depends upon the development by call‐centre workers, encouraged by more senior employees, of informal, pseudo‐sexualized client relations at the point of production. Crucially however the fieldwork reveals that the demands placed upon customer service representatives are subtly gendered.     

Post‐3/11 Japan and the Radical Recontextualization of Value: Music,Social Media,and End‐Around Strategies for Cultural Action

The disasters of 3/11 provoked a global outpouring of emotion towards the suffering in Japan. In many ways, this singular event seemed to refigure the meanings of community and technology by drawing attention to the fragility of human control in times of disaster. Although the long‐term consequences remain uncertain, this radical recontextualization of value points to a way of thinking about broader processes of change, a contrast to cultural analysis that proceeds by directly critiquing structures of power on their own terms. If we look to processes whereby a new context can be the impetus that undermines seemingly entrenched interests, we might find inspiration for alternative forms of critique and action. Music provides a model for cultural movements that do not attack power directly, but rather operate through this kind of slippery, insidious, “end‐around” strategy of change that gains its force from recontextualizing social logics. These features of music foreshadow some of the contemporary developments in social media, and may point to untapped potentials for subverting, and possibly transforming, enduring structures of power and inequality.     

Anti-War Activism: New Media and Protest in the Information Age

This starts out by distinguishing between communication and communication mediums when examining social movement-powered formations of collective identity and collective action. We then focus on communication mediums to examine the different ways that old and new media are utilized in urban social movements under neoliberal capitalism. Based on shifts in the political economy and correspondingly in the contemporary composition of the working class, we focus on the Media Mobilizing Project in Philadelphia to argue that contemporary urban social movements and networks utilize a multi-media platform to further class-based politics. The respective use of old or new media depends on important contextual questions, regarding technology access and geographic aspects of movement building work.     

Masses,Crowds, Communities,Movements: Collective Action in the Internet Age

This article investigates two questions: One, how might the very differently structured social collectives on the Internet – masses, crowds, communities and movements – be classified and distinguished? And two, what influence do the technological infrastructures in which they operate have on their formation, structure, and activities? For this, we differentiate between two main types of social collectives: non-organized collectives, which exhibit loosely coupled collective behavior, and collective actors with a separate identity and strategic capability. Further, we examine the newness, or distinctive traits, of online-based collectives, which we identify as being the strong and hitherto non-existent interplay between the technological infrastructures that these collectives are embedded in and the social processes of coordination and institutionalization they must engage in, in order to maintain their viability over time. Conventional patterns of social dynamics in the development and stabilization of collective action are now systematically intertwined with technology-induced processes of structuration.     

Social media,temporality, and the legitimacy of protest

ABSTRACT

This article examines how the rise of social media affects the temporal relations of protest communication. Following a relational approach, it traces how regimes of temporality are constructed and transformed through the entanglement between media infrastructures, institutions, and practices. These regimes involve particular ‘speeds’ -the rate at which media content is renewed – as well as ‘temporal orientations’ towards present, past, and future. The article questions how specific temporal regimes enable or complicate protestors’ efforts to gain public legitimacy. A large body of research suggests that it is difficult to gain such legitimacy in the mainstream news cycle, in which protest is primarily covered from an ‘episodic’ perspective, ignoring larger protest issues. The present analysis suggests that despite the participatory affordances of social media, it has not become any easier to generate sustained public attention for structural protest issues. Drawing examples from three case studies, it demonstrates that the dominant mode of social media protest communication reproduces and reinforces the episodic focus of the mainstream news. While other temporal perspectives on protest are certainly developed in the alternative and mainstream news, as well as in activist social media communication, these do not fundamentally challenge the prevailing temporal orientation towards the present, towards the event.     

New Media and Social Networks: Considerations from Clients in Addictions Treatment

Web-based (2.0) media will play an increasing role in substance abuse treatment. Two focus groups identified initial barriers and potential uses within a population living below the median income. Client suggestions included using different approaches to service delivery based on a person's access to web 2.0 media. Preliminary results indicated that contrary to the staff members' opinions, the majority of clients appeared to have sufficient Internet access and the requisite social networking skills in order to participate in online interventions. Future research should focus on using games as a potential mode of online service delivery, on the potential of the various forms of social networking, and whether classism exists between client and staff perceptions.     

Social Movements and Patronage Politics: Processes of Demobilization and Dual Pressure

Why might social movements be highly contentious at one point in time and demobilize shortly after? Based on ethnographic fieldwork, this article examines the dynamics of demobilization of popular movements in a context of patronage politics. I argue that demobilization in these contexts results from relational processes creating a “dual pressure” stemming “from below” and “from above.” In social environments where patronage is pervasive, poor people develop survival strategies relying on clientelistic arrangements. They participate in a social movement organization (SMO) to voice their rights, but also to address pressing survival needs by gaining access to resources. These expectations of constituents create a pressure “from below” on leaders of an SMO, which respond by securing resources obtained through alliances with national political actors. In turn, these alliances create a pressure “from above,” because local leaders reciprocate this national support by eschewing the organization of collective actions. Drawing on data culled from 12 months of fieldwork on an Argentine peasant movement, this article inspects the interconnections between popular movements and patronage politics to refine our understanding of demobilization processes; contribute to discussions regarding the role of culture on contentious politics; and shed light on current demobilization trends in Latin America.     

Lukewarm Nationalism: The 2020 Tokyo Olympics,Social Media and Affective Communities

This article considers the way in which a new nationalism is being created in the age of the Internet and social media by looking at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and other Games in the past. The development of media technology from film, radio, and television to the Internet and social media has changed the character of the Olympic Games as media event. It has been argued that these developments have created a shared consciousness, a sense of belonging and enthusiastic nationalism in the age of modern nation‐state. While the spread of the Internet and social media was originally expected to contribute to globalization or to the emergence of global citizens in a global village, as McLuhan once predicted, it seems that the world is more divided, fragmented, and fluid than ever. At the same time, the digital media organize various layers of community not only by ideology but also by affect: affective communities. This often leads to the rise of chauvinistic nationalism in developed countries. With reference to McLuhan's famous argument on hot and cool media, the article tries to examine the character of contemporary lukewarm nationalism in the age of digital media.     

The Incidence and Impact of Policy-Oriented Collective Action: Competing Views

This article asks four questions: (1) What are our theoretical expectations about the incidence of policy-oriented collective action and its impact? (2) What do the data show about the incidence of collective action and its impact? (3) How might the impact of collective action be related to its incidence? (4) What do our findings imply for our understanding of democratic politics? We suggest that predictions that little collective action will occur are more accurate than conventionally believed; that such action is often ineffective; that it may be ineffective partly because it is so infrequent; and that the analysis of the determinants of policy change should be rethought as a result.     

Social Movements and Europeanization Processes: The Case of the French Associations Mobilizing around the Asylum Issue

This paper seeks to analyse the process of Europeanization of social movements mobilizing around the asylum policy since the middle of the 1990s. Taking the example of the principal French associations which have mobilized on this topic, the paper explores the dynamics that lead these associations to increasingly address the European institutions since the launching of the process of harmonisation of asylum policies. In particular, it shows that particular attention shall be given to the relationship between the associations that have constituted at the national level and the set of actors that are mobilized on this issue exclusively at the European level (which is defined as a European advocacy coalition). Through the analysis of this relationship, it can be seen that the French associations follow different processes of Europeanization. Some follow a process of inclusion into the existing European advocacy coalition while others create alternative mobilizations at the European level. This study allows us to observe and to analyse the similarities and differences in the interactions between social movements and institutions in the national political space and in the European political space on this particular issue. In doing so, it seeks to present an original perspective on a process of ‘Europeanization from below’. This research is based on the in-depth analysis of 11 associations which are representative of the diversity of the movement related to the asylum issue in France. It uses different methods that were developed in social movements studies: frame analysis, protest-event analysis and network analysis. It is based on several sources: associative discourses and publications, in-depth interviews, and associative internal literature.     

Abolitionists and the Eloquence of Abuse: Revisiting Status and Rhetoric in Social Movements

Current discussions of contentious performances profitably draw upon a revival of theories of culture, emotion, and performance. Yet status theory and status claims-making continue to be neglected in the mix because of their received associations with classical tension theory and unpopular functionalist models of collective behavior. Because most social movement participants are outsiders to the ‘halls of power,’ their dependence upon the rhetoric of status in cultivating moral influence is much more fundamental than previously acknowledged, although this relation is hinted at in Tilly's notion of contentious performances. Efforts to recover status theory navigate between two major mistakes in past theories of collective behavior: the voluntaristic overemphasis of affective manipulation by charismatic leaders, and the deterministic conflation of status with large reified social structures. The concept of reception fields is proposed to refer to the relational, fluid, social–psychological status dynamics between movement leaders and audiences during contentious performances, in which distinction and rhetoric are mutually constitutive. The article situates eloquence or the emotional energy of protest rhetoric in the dramaturgical performance of status dynamics within the immediate reception field. The utility of this approach to status rhetoric is illustrated with respect to American antislavery abolitionism.     

Labor‐Environmental Coalition Formation: Framing and the Right to Know1

This article examines the formation of a cross‐movement coalition between elements of the labor and environmental movements in New Jersey. We explain the successful formation and initial political campaign of the New Jersey Work Environment Council with an expansion of the theoretical perspective of frame analysis. We propose a model of a coalition collective action frame that offers several important insights into the active role coalition actors play in the construction of a common frame uniting union and environmental activists. Using qualitative data gathered from interviews, observations, and document analyses of two major campaigns, we argue that the coalition frame allowed new political opportunities to be created, leading to the establishment of the most sweeping right‐to‐know laws in the United States. We conclude the discussion of coalition framing by examining political constraints on the framing possibilities of coalitions, specifically by exploring how the discursive shift from the right to know to the right to act failed to expand the influence of the cross‐movement coalition as originally expected by its members.     

It Takes a Tragedy to Arouse Them: Collective Memory and Collective Action during the Civil Rights Movement

This paper examines the impact that collective memories of key events related to the civil rights movement had on black political activism during the 1960s. It proposes a theory that examines the effects of collective memory on collective action by considering how events and collective memories are appropriated by political entrepreneurs for collective action. Examining four events through a rare opinion survey of blacks taken in 1966, the analysis specifies a framework that illustrates how events evolve into collective memories and how collective memories are appropriated for collective action as time passes from the original event. Qualitative materials from historical accounts, including autobiographies, biographies, and oral histories, are used to make inferences about the meaning of events to political actors. The analysis shows that one event among the four, the murder of Emmett Till, had a stronger residual effect on black activism than the other events. The findings suggest that scholarship on the movement may have underestimated the impact of Till's murder on the generation of black insurgency in the 1950s.     

Local Moral Economies: The Space,Place, and Locality of Social Media Mobilisation

This study is a case study of a locally rooted environmental campaign on the Swedish island of Gotland. We aim to enhance the understanding of how locality is manifested in social movements that emerge in today’s networked world. We analyse how the double goals of speaking to, as well as beyond, the local context came into expression in the movement’s social media activities. We draw on data from tweets and Facebook posts and include interactions between activists and critics as well as the resources linked to in the posts. Analysis indicates that the conflict must be seen as spanning across local, national and global levels. In line with earlier research, activists used social media to link their struggle with other struggles. Also, it was used to charge the local struggle with symbolic content by framing it as one of many struggles between local communities, authorities and multinational corporations. Beyond this, posts from the island signalled dedication to the history and long-term interests of the community. We argue that future studies should recognise the crucial role that reciprocity norms in the local community can play for outcomes of conflicts and that the notion of a ‘local moral economy’ can be used to reach a deeper understanding of this.     

Transition,Connection, Disconnection,and Social Media: Examining the Digital Lived Experiences of Transgender Individuals

In light of persistent discrimination, many individuals who are transgender lack a safe space to connect with others. Social media has become a platform for establishing social ties, receiving education, and sharing of resources that may not otherwise be available to individuals on the margins of society. Yet little is understood about the role of social media in the lives of individuals who are transgender. In this qualitative study, the researchers examined the experiences of adults who are transgender (N = 5) who use social media. The current study also explored possible benefits and hindrances of social media for individuals who are transgender. Two main themes emerged: social media as a resource and a path to self and authenticity. The researchers encourage counselors to become familiar with various social networking sites and their privacy settings, and propose using a theoretical framework to guide counseling work with individuals who are transgender to reflect on social media connections and disconnections.     

Talk About a Revolution: Social Media and the MENA Uprisings

This article examines the role played by social media in the popular uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). When discussing their role, it is important to note the wider research context on social media and political participation and to be aware of any ideological and normative interventions. A number of key questions are asked about the role played by social media in the uprisings. First is the importance of context when assessing the role and impact of social media with global reach. Second is the extent to which ‘old’ media in the guise of print and broadcast journalism have been displaced or downgraded as forums for public talk. Third is the variable use and significance of different information and communication technologies and formats. The fourth issue concerns the demeanor of activists and audience, while the fifth focuses on the effects of social media on the conduct of the uprisings and, insofar as this can be ascertained, on their outcomes.

Este artículo examina el papel que jugaron los medios en los famosos levantamientos a través del Medio Oriente y África del Norte (MENA, por sus siglas en inglés). Al analizar su papel, es importante notar una mayor amplitud en el contexto de la investigación sobre los medios sociales y la participación política, y de tener presente cualquier intervención normativa e ideológica. Se formularon varias preguntas claves sobre el rol que jugaron los medios sociales en los levantamientos. Primero, la importancia del contexto cuando se evalúa el papel e impacto de los medios sociales con el alcance mundial. Segundo, hasta qué punto los medios ‘antiguos’ en la forma de periodismo impreso y radio y teledifusión fueron desplazados o se redujeron a fórums de charlas públicas. Tercero, la importancia y el uso variable de las diferentes tecnologías y formatos de la información y la comunicación. El cuarto asunto analiza la conducta de los activistas y la audiencia, mientras que el quinto se enfoca en los efectos de los medios sociales sobre la conducta de los levantamientos, y en la medida que se pueda constatar, sobre sus consecuencias.

本文考察社会媒体在横贯西亚北非地区的民众反叛中扮演的角色。当讨论社会媒体的作用时,注意到社会媒体和政治参与广阔的研究范围并小心避免任何意识形态或价值标准干扰是很重要的。关于社会媒体在反叛中扮演的角色,存在若干关键问题。首先是当以全球性覆盖来评估社会媒体角色和影响时环境的重要性。第二是作为公众话题平台,以印刷和广播新闻形式出现的“旧”媒体在多大程度上被取代或其重要性降低了。第三是不同的信息、通信技术及形式的可变用途和重要性。第四个问题有关积极分子和接受者的行为,而第五个则聚焦于社会媒体对起义的进行以及在可确定范围内其结局的影响。     

Life-Spheres,Networks, and Sustained Participation in Social Movements: A Phenomenological Approach to Political Commitment

This article proposes an account of individual participation in social movements that combines structural and cultural factors. It aims to explain why certain activists continue to be involved in social movements while others withdraw. When activists remain embedded in social networks relevant for the protest issues and, above all, when they keep a symbolic linkage between their activism and their personal life-spheres, sustained participation is likely to occur. When these two factors become progressively separated from each other and the process of self-interaction by activists loses its strength, disengagement can be expected. The argument is illustrated with life-history interviews of activists who have kept their strong commitment to a major organization of the Swiss solidarity movement, and others that, in contrast, have abandoned their involvement. The findings support the argument that the interplay of the structural positions of actors and the symbolic meanings of mobilization has a strong impact on commitment to social movements and hence on sustained participation or disengagement. In particular, the interviews show the importance of a sense of coherence and of a holistic view of one's personal life for keeping commitment over time. This calls for a view of individual participation in social movements that draws from social phenomenology and symbolic interactionism in order to shed light on the symbolic (subjective) dimensions of participation, yet without neglecting the crucial role played by structural (objective) factors.     

Social media time,identity narratives and the construction of political biographies

ABSTRACT

The question of identity narrative is at the core of the interaction between social movements and temporalities. In this paper, we draw on long-term qualitative research amongst activists engaged in Italian social movements and argue that identity narratives are often the result of a complex mnemonic, contradictory and open-ended process that spans through a life-time of engagement with multiple collectives. We then question whether the use of social media reshape these dynamics. The analysis shows that the construction of identity narratives on social media tends to take place with knowledge of the complexity and overlaps that characterise these processes online. Nevertheless, the temporality of social media, based on immediacy, archival and predictive time, challenges the unpredictable, contradictory, and open-ended nature of political identity construction offline. The need to escape the hegemonic temporalities of social media poses new challenges to activists in their creative agency.     

When Opportunity Structure Knocks: Social Movements in the Soviet Union and Russian Federation

The notion of an opportunity structure has become both popular and confusing for social movement research. This paper attempts to clarify how opportunity structures are understood through a discussion of separatism in two cases: the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation. Instead of being treated as a collective whole, opportunity structures are broken into three factors: A) constitutional rules and rights; B) elite control; and C) the state's capacity and propensity for repression. Factor A represents formal restrictions on potentially insurgent groups while factors B and C are informal restrictions. In the Soviet and Russian settings, four distinct opportunity structures are identified. The first, established under Stalin, was narrow, constraining potentially insurgent groups. But the second, which emerged under Gorbachev, was relatively wide and contributed to the willingness of various republics to declare independence. The third, established at the founding of the Russian Federation, was medium in width, but did not permit the types of activity found in the second. And lastly, the fourth can be dated to Putin's reforms of the early twenty-first century, and is narrow in character. Although future research is necessary for confirmation, this disaggregated model is intended to be generally applicable in other contexts.