Critique of the Democratic Potentials of the Internet: A Review of Current Theory and Practice

Breindl, Yana

doi:10.31269/vol8iss1pp43-59

Cited by 12 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 13 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Existing research acknowledges a cultural shift towards personalised political activity (Bennett & Segerberg, 2011;Breindl, 2010) and the use of blogs for discursive activism (Moyo, 2011;Shaw, 2011;Steele, 2012) The blogosphere is a contradictory space that reproduces inequalities that exist within traditional media (Kellner, 2000) and helps maintain corporate media power while providing a platform for counterhegemonic practice (Fuchs …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Alternative Voices, Alternative Spaces: Counterhegemonic Discourse in the Blogosphere

Gabriel¹

2015

Media, Margins and Civic Agency

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:In 21st-century Britain, racial inequality remains deeply embedded in the fabric of society (Institute for Public Policy Research, 2010), and people of colour remain at the margins of the mainstream media that often perpetuate inequalities through misrepresentation or exclusion. This chapter examines how blogs are used by African Caribbean people as a discursive medium through which raced and gendered identities are contested, reconfigured and enacted within the blogosphere. Hailed as a revolutionary, democratic space, the blogosphere also maintains raced and gendered inequalities found offline and reproduces unequal power relations (Cammaerts, 2008;Kellner, 2000;Papacharissi, 2002;Schradie, 2012). Despite such limitations, as this chapter highlights, the blogosphere is still appropriated as a medium for selfrepresentation to cultivate symbolic power through their own constructions of Black identity.2

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is particularly the case when the content is centred on issues around being Black in UK society. Increasingly, citizen engagement is directed more towards issues that affect the everyday lives of individuals and less influenced by formal political processes (Breindl, 2010).…”

Section: Voicementioning

confidence: 99%

Alternative Voices, Alternative Spaces: Counterhegemonic Discourse in the Blogosphere

Gabriel¹

2015

Media, Margins and Civic Agency

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In this regard, Häyhtiö and Rinne (2008: 26) indicate that political protests made through the Internet differ from traditional protests in terms of agenda, objectives, and duration and action lines. Meanwhile, Dalhgreen (2009, in: Breindl, 2010 notes that this evolution is linked to the overall process of individualization that outlines new political practices: a change in which political connections are established following personal interests and choices are made based in every lifestyle, rather than traditional ideologies.…”

Section: Theoretical Connotationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The 15M Movement. Collective and volatile actions in the political arena

2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

From data obtained in a survey conducted in May 2011 to identify some characteristics of the media impact of Spanish 15M Movement, this paper presents a critical reflection on the role of new media, especially social networks, in the generation of massive social actions. As a result of current information processes, social networks have been positioned in the imaginary as informative multiplication scenarios, and as spaces that generate immediate social mobilizations. However, the rapid spread, spontaneity, immediacy and volatility that characterize these movements contrast with the lack of lengthy movements, which arise from deliberative processes, necessarily built on institutionalized public spheres. The article shows the opposition between the change in media consumption habits and the reception of information by citizens and their permanent apathy to action-mobilization. Thus, changes in the forms of communication, individualization, connection and multipresence keep unchanged collective action spaces, and can even reduce these spaces if they are not utilized properly.

show abstract

“…A broad range of studies suggests that the share of information and communication technologies (ICT) in political involvement is significant and that democratic governance is changing as a result. The changes include the rise of bottom-up flash and single-issue campaigning (Breindl, 2010); increased mobilization of otherwise silent voices (Vissers and Stolle, 2013); developments of political counter-discourses (Dahlberg, 2007); and the creation of a fifth estate (Dutton, 2013). The tactical employment of online channels could indeed change the conditions for political participation and reconfigure the relationships of power.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Navigating troubled waters: bringing the e-democratic ship into safe harbour?

Jørgensen

Andersen

2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose-Whereas prior research has conceptualized and empirical investigated reinforcement and amplification mechanisms, this paper proposes a framework of power that captures the dynamic ways in which different forms of online political action is structured by disparate mechanisms. Design/methodology/approach-The paper derives a theoretical model of power from Foucault and affiliated governmentality studies, which constructs power as the mechanisms and logics that structure the field of possible actions. This model is grounded in research literature on e-democracy and applied in a study of the mechanisms that structure e-democracy. Findings-The paper identifies four mechanisms that balance disparate concerns of e-democracy. Monitoring (M) mechanisms apply logics of security and service to weigh anonymity and publicity against each other. The range of participants is determined by Inclusion/exclusion (I) mechanisms which operate through rules of engagement. Moderation (M) mechanisms balance concerns for heterogenic viewpoints and homogeneity according to a logic of uniformity. Logics of profit making and shared understanding warrant the balance that Exposure (E) mechanisms strike between information abundance and centralized access. The four mechanisms are combined in the MIME framework. Research limitations/implications-The MIME framework includes mechanisms that are documented by the English speaking research community, often with a substantial time lag. Others and potentially forceful mechanisms might not be reported in the research literature. Practical implications-Practitioners are encouraged to be cognizant of the variety of mechanisms that condition edemocracy; their internal components and external relations of e-democratic practices when designing, building, and conducting e-democratic initiatives. Originality/value-Instead of focusing exclusively on the beneficiaries and the possible payoffs from e-democratic practices, the MIME framework developed in the paper focuses on the mechanisms which structure e-democracy.

show abstract

Critique of the Democratic Potentials of the Internet: A Review of Current Theory and Practice

Cited by 12 publications

References 13 publications

Alternative Voices, Alternative Spaces: Counterhegemonic Discourse in the Blogosphere

Alternative Voices, Alternative Spaces: Counterhegemonic Discourse in the Blogosphere

The 15M Movement. Collective and volatile actions in the political arena

Navigating troubled waters: bringing the e-democratic ship into safe harbour?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About