Digital Platforms and Urban Mobilizations: How Locality Redefines Connective Action
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14515/monitoring.2023.4.2352Keywords:
connective action, locality, urban contestation, mobilization, collective action, citizen media, social networking sitesAbstract
The paper focuses on local digital platforms (citizen media) and their involvement in urban negotiations and conflicts. It aims to revise connective action theory, which describes mobilizations that occur online or both online and offline around a broad political agenda (e.g., Occupy and Indignados movements). The paper explores how applying connective action theory to local mobilization campaigns updates the theory, making it more sensitive to the diversity of connective actions and thus more applicable to empirical research. The paper proposes a typology of connective action based on two criteria: 1) the extent to which a single digital platform dominates the campaign; and 2) the division of responsibility and agency between the initiative group, which acts as the manager of online platforms (groups), and the subscribers. Based on data collected from three studies of local grassroots campaigns conducted in 2018-2020 in large Russian cities (Samara, Novosibirsk, St. Petersburg, and Moscow), four types of local connective action are highlighted and described.
Acknowledgements. The research is supported by the Russian Science Foundation Grant No. 18-78-10054-P “Mechanisms of Interests Coordination in the Urban Development Processes”.
References
Бедерсон В. Д., Желнина А. А., Запорожец О. Н., Минаева Э. Ю., Семенов А. В., Тыканова Е. В., Хохлова А. М., Чернышева Л. А., Шевцова И. К. Города расходящихся улиц: траектории развития городских конфликтов в России / под отв. ред. Е. В. Тыкановой. СПб.: ФНИСЦ РАН, 2021. https://doi.org/10.19181/monogr.978-5-89697-351-5.2021.
Bederson V. D., Zhelnina A. A., Zaporozhets O. N., Minaeva E. Yu., Semenov A. V., Tykanova E. V., Khokhlova A. M., Chernyshova L. A., Shevtsova I. K. (2021) The City of Forking Streets: Trajectories of Urban Conflict Development in Russia. Saint Petersburg: FCTAS RAS. https://doi.org/10.19181/monogr.978-5-89697-351-5.2021. (In Russ.)
Желнина А. А., Тыканова Е. В. Формальные и неформальные гражданские инфраструктуры: современные исследования городского локального активизма в России // Журнал социологии и социальной антропологии. 2019. Т. 22. № 1. С. 162—192. https://doi.org/10.31119/jssa.2019.22.1.8.
Zhelnina A. A., Tykanova E. V. (2019) Formal and Informal Civic Infrastructure: Contemporary Studies of Urban Local Activism in Russia. The Journal of Sociology and Social Anthropology. Vol. 22. No. 1. P. 162—192. https://doi.org/10.31119/jssa.2019.22.1.8. (In Russ.)
Желнина А. А. «Гетто в хорошем смысле» против «бетонного гетто»: районные дискурсы и реновация в Москве // Городские исследования и практики. 2019. T. 4. № 2. С. 21—36. https://doi.org/10.17323/usp42202021-36.
Zhelnina A. (2019) “Ghetto in a Good Sense” Versus “The Concrete Ghetto”: Neighborhood Discourses and Renovation in Moscow. Urban Studies and Practices. Vol. 4. No. 2. P. 21—36. https://doi.org/10.17323/usp42202021-36. (In Russ.)
Запорожец О. Н., Багина Я. А. Власть надежд: отстаивание инфраструктуры в новых городских районах // Журнал исследований социальной политики. 2021. T. 19. № 2. С. 269—284. https://doi.org/10.17323/727-0634-2021-19-2-269-284.
Zaporozhets O. N., Bagina Ya. A. (2021) How Hopes Build the Civic Infrastructure or New Residential Areas. The Journal of Social Policy Studies. Vol. 19. No. 2. P. 269—284. https://doi.org/10.17323/727-0634-2021-19-2-269-284. (In Russ.)
Семенов А. В., Минаева Э. Ю. Города расходящихся улиц: траектории развития городских конфликтов в России // Журнал исследований социальной политики. 2021. Т. 22. № 2. С. 189—204. https://doi.org/10.17323/727-0634-2021-19-2-189-204.
Semenov A. V., Minaeva E. Yu. (2021) The Cities of Forking Streets: Trajectories of Urban Conflicts in Russia. The Journal of Social Policy Studies. Vol. 19. No. 2. P. 189—204. https://doi.org/10.17323/727-0634-2021-19-2-189-204. (In Russ.)
Чернышева Л. А., Гизатуллина Э. Г. «ВКонтакте» с соседями: черты и практики гибридного соседствования в большом жилом комплексе в Санкт-Петербурге // Laboratorium: журнал социальных исследований. 2021. Т. 13. № 2. С. 39—71. https://doi.org/10.25285/2078-1938-2021-13-2-39-71.
Chernysheva L., Gizatullina E. (2021) VKontakte and the Neighbors: Features and Practices of Hybrid Neighboring in a Large Housing Estate in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Laboratorium: Russian Review of Social Research. Vol. 13. No. 2. P. 39—71. https://doi.org/10.25285/2078-1938-2021-13-2-39-71. (In Russ.)
Шиповалова Л. В., Чернышева Л. А., Гизатуллина Э. Г. Цифровые технологии управления в действии, или об активности граждан вокруг платформы «Активный гражданин» // Социология науки и технологий. 2021. T. 12. № 1. С. 71—87. https://doi.org/10.24411/2079-0910-2021-11005.
Shipovalova L. V., Chernysheva L. A., Gizatullina E. G. (2021) Digital Governance Technologies in Action, or On the Activity of Citizens around the Platform “Active Citizen”. Sociology of Science and Technology. Vol. 12. No. 1. P. 71—87. https://doi.org/10.24411/2079-0910-2021-11005. (In Russ.)
Anduiza E., Cristancho C., Sabucedo J. M. (2014) Mobilization through Online Social Networks: The Political Protest of the Indignados in Spain 2014. Information, Communication & Society. Vol. 17. No. 6. P. 750—764. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2013.808360.
Bennett W. L., Segerberg A. (2012) The Logic of Connective Action: Digital Media and the Personalization of Contentious Politics. Information, Communication & Society. Vol. 15. No. 5. P. 739—768. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2012.670661.
Bennett W. L., Segerberg A. (2013) The Logic of Connective Action: Digital Media and the Personalization of Contentious Politics. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139198752.
boyd D., Golder S., Lotan G. (2010) Tweet, Tweet, Retweet: Conversational Aspects of Retweeting on Twitter. In: Sprague R. H. Jr. (ed.) Proceedings of the 43rd Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. 5—8 January 2010 Koloa, Kauai, Hawaii. Los Alamitos, CA: The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. P. 1—10. https://doi.org/10.1109/HICSS.2010.412.
Cabitza F., Scramaglia R., Cornetta D., Simone C. (2016) When the Web Supports Communities of Place: The ‘Social Street’ Case in Italy. International Journal of Web Based Communities. Vol. 12. No. 3. P. 216—237. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJWBC.2016.077758.
Chung T.-L., Johnson O., Hall-Phillips A., Kim K. (2021) The Effects of Offline Events on Online Connective Actions: An Examination of #BoycottNFL Using Social Network Analysis. Computers in Human Behavior. Vol. 115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106623.
Evans S. K., Pearce K. E., Vitak J., Treem J. W. (2017) Explicating Affordances: a Conceptual Framework for Understanding Affordances in Communication Research. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. Vol. 22. No. 1. P. 35—52. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcc4.12180.
Gerbaudo, P. (2012). Tweets and the Streets: Social Media and Contemporary Activism. London: Pluto Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt183pdzs.
Gerbaudo P., Treré E. (2015) In Search of the ‘We’ of Social Media Activism: Introduction to the Special Issue on Social Media and Protest Identities. Information, Communication & Society. Vol. 18. No. 8. P. 865—871. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2015.1043319.
Gromasheva O. (2021) Hybrid Neighborness in Action: The Case of Kudrovo, Russia. Laboratorium: Russian Review of Social Research. Vol. 13. No. 2. P. 13—38. https://doi.org/10.25285/2078-1938-2021-13-2-13-38.
Koskinen K., Bonina C., Eaton B. (2019) Digital Platforms in the Global South: Foundations and Research Agenda. In: Information and Communication Technologies for Development. Strengthening Southern-Driven Cooperation as a Catalyst for ICT4D: 15th IFIP WG 9.4. International Conference on Social Implications of Computers in Developing Countries, ICT4D 2019, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, May 1–3, 2019, Proceedings, Part I 15. Springer International Publishing. P. 319-330.
Lupia A., Sin G. (2003) Which Public Goods are Endangered? How Evolving Communication Technologies Affect the Logic of Collective Action. Public Choice. Vol. 117. No. 3. P. 315—331. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:PUCH.0000003735.07840.c7.
Mattoni A. (2018) I Post, You Rally, She Tweets… and We All Occupy: The Challenges of Hybrid Spatiality in the Occupy Wall Street Mobilizations. In: Mortensen M., Neumayer C., Poell T. (eds.) Social Media Materialities and Protest: Critical Reflections. London: Routledge. P. 29—39. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315107066-9.
McGillivray D., Guillard S., Reid E. (2020) Urban Connective Action: The Case of Events Hosted in Public Space. Urban Planning. Vol. 5. No. 4. P. 252—266. https://doi.org/10.17645/up.v5i4.3406.
Meier P. P. (2009) The Impact of the Information Revolution on Protest Frequency in Repressive Contexts. The 50th International Studies Association (ISA) Convention. February 15—18, 2007. URL: https://irevolution.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/meier-isa-2009-final.pdf (дата обращения: 21.08.2023).
Milan S. (2015) From Social Movements to Cloud Protesting: The Evolution of Collective Identity. Information, Communication & Society. Vol. 18. No. 8. P. 887—900. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2015.1043135.
Morozov E. (2011) To Save Everything, Click Here: The Folly of Technological Solutionism. New York, NY: Public Affairs.
Mortensen M., Neumayer C., Poell T. (eds.) (2018) Social Media Materialities and Protest: Critical Reflections. London: Routledge.
Mosconi G., Korn M., Reuter C., Tolmie P, Teli M., Pipek V. (2017) From Facebook to the Neighbourhood: Infrastructuring of Hybrid Community Engagement. Computer Supported Cooperative Work. Vol. 26. No. 4—6. P. 959—1003. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10606-017-9291-z.
Olson M. (1965) The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Pond P., Lewis J. (2019) Riots and Twitter: Connective Politics, Social Media and Framing Discourses in the Digital Public Sphere. Information, Communication & Society. Vol. 22. No. 2. P. 213—231. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2017.1366539.
Rainie H., Wellman B. (2012) Networked: The New Social Operating System. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/8358.001.0001.
Shulman S. W. (2009) The Case Against Mass E-mails: Perverse Incentives and Low Quality Public Participation in U.S. Federal Rulemaking. Policy & Internet. Vol. 1. No. 1. P. 23—53. https://doi.org/10.2202/1944-2866.1010.
Stephansen H. C., Treré E. (2019) Practice What You Preach? Currents, Connections, and Challenges in Theorizing Citizen Media and Practice. In: Stephansen H. C., Treré E. (eds.) Citizen Media and Practice: Currents, Connections, Challenges. London: Routledge. P. 1—34. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351247375-1.
Treré E. (2018) Nomads of Cyber-Urban Space: Media Hybridity as Resistance. In: Mortensen M., Neumayer C., Poell T. (eds.) Social Media Materialities and Protest: Critical Reflections. London: Routledge. P. 42—56. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315107066-4.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Monitoring of Public Opinion: Economic and Social Changes Journal (Public Opinion Monitoring) ISSN 2219-5467
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
