Networks of Contention: The Shape of Online Transnationalism in Early Twenty-First Century Social Movement Coalitions

Abstract

Abstract. The study of new media use by transnational social movements is central to contemporary investigations of social contention. In order to shed light on the terrain in which the most recent examples of online mobilization have grown and developed, this paper combines the interest in the transnational dynamics of social contention and the exploration of the use of new ICTs for protest action. In specific terms, the study investigates how early twenty-first century social movement coalitions used Internet tools to build symbolically transnational collective identities. By applying a Hyperlink Network Analysis approach, the study focuses on a website network generated by local chapters of the World Social Forum, one of the earliest social movement coalitions for global justice. The sample network, selected through snowball sampling, is composed of 222 social forum websites from around the world. The study specifically looks at hyperlinks among social forum websites as signs of belonging and potential means of alliance. The analysis uses network measures, namely of cohesion, centrality, structural equivalence, and homophily, to test dynamics of symbolic collective identification underlying the WSF coalition. The findings show that in early twenty-first century transnational contention culture and place still played a central role in the emergence of transnational movement networks.

Social movement coalitions: Formation, longevity, and success

“…Additionally, evolving technology has made imperative the study of information systems and their influence on coalition formation and dynamics. Insights from this literature, such as the ablation of traditional time-space barriers and multiplication of weak ties through the social media (Castells, 2009;Earl & Kimport, 2011;Tremayne, 2014;Vicari, 2014), have yet to be applied to the study of coalitions. Finally, we need additional research on right-wing coalitions, which have been the subject of surprisingly few studies of coalition dynamics.…”

“…Scholarship demonstrates that cultural similarities between movement actors (Bandy & Smith, 2005;Jung, King, & Soule, 2014), consistent ideologies (Altemose & McCarty, 2001;Brecher & Costello, 1990;Cullen, 2015;Di Gregorio, 2012;Dreiling, 1998;Enriquez, 2014;Gerhards & Rucht, 1992;Lichterman, 1995;Mayer, Brown, & Morello-Frosch, 2010;Park, 2008;Staggenborg, 2015;Whittier, 2014) and collective identity (Barvosa-Carter2001, Corrigall-Brown & Heaney & Rojas, 2014;Krinsky & Reese, 2006;Maney, 2000;Van Stekelenburg & Klandermans, 2014;Takeshi 2014;Valocchi, 2009;Vicari, 2014;Whittier, 2014) aid in coalition formation. Indeed, ideological and cultural congruence is a pivotal factor in promoting or preventing coalition formation.…”

Tweet your #Mo and save a Bro

“…Third, studies on collective identity demonstrate the effectiveness of CMC in transnational and organizational movements (Kavada, 2012(Kavada, , 2015Romanos, 2015;Stephan, 2013;Vicari, 2014). CMC offers ways to display transnational identities and fosters the creation of symbols, cross-national solidarity and network interaction used to facilitate the construction of collective identities.…”

“…For example, 'network identity' is used to define the identity of emergent networked social movements (e.g. World Social Forum) that have a strong network organizational structure (Vicari, 2014); 'project identity' (Castells, 2011) is associated with activists who seek to build strong solidarity in their networked communities and connectively act together to achieve a shared project or goal (Jensen & Bang, 2015; 'connective identity' is used to define the identity of the Occupy Wall Street movement, which was reconceptualized by horizontal structures, networking practices, social media communication and consensual decision making (Beraldo & Galan-Paez, 2013); and 'multitudinous identity', associated with the 15M movement in Spain, combines the personal dimension, which is typical of CMC networked individualism and connective action, with collective, dynamic interactions between multiple actors engaged in the movement (Monterde et al, 2015).…”

“…We propose combining and integrating the study of (individual, social and collective) identity and networks to advance our understanding of collective action via CMC. The work of bridging scholars offers several examples in this regard (e.g., Beraldo & Galan-Paez, 2013;Milan & Hintz, 2013;Monterde et al, 2015;Vicari, 2014). These authors show how empirical research on identity and networks can grasp identification processes of online groups and communities (social identity) as well as social movements (collective identity) that are characterized by strong network structures, which also foster individualism (individual identity).…”