Digital democracy: Politics and the Internet
LITERATURE REVIEW
Peter Van Aelst, Stefaan Wargrave (2002) and Manual Castells (2012) explore the emergence of new media technologies, focusing on the Internet, in relation to it’s role in engaging individuals to perform social movements that are materialized through various forms. This is exemplified in the formation of organized protests, online petitions and campaigns that contribute to a united cause.
Within Van Aelst and Walgrave’s article, the establishment of social movements that are based online are dissected through articulating them through 3 aspects: a shared interest that forms a collective identity, actual mobilization and a network of different organizations (Van Aelst & Walgrave …show more content…
This reflects aspects of audience studies as users are performing “mass self-communication” as a result of their ability to share and contribute to political and social affairs, enlarging the scope of exposure to a particular issue (Castells 2012, p.6). In having the capacity to potentially exert influence through the arguably liberal, democratic and decentralized nature of the online environment by challenging dominant power structures in reality, networks can be understood to have a profound effect on contemporary politics (Castells 2012, p.2). However, in saying this, the question of who truly holds the power becomes evident, to which Castells argues that the political force derived from these networked societies should be considered a “counter-power” to the power that is rooted within the institutions of society (Castells 2012, p.5). In challenging these powers, social actors are able to demand for the representation of their values and interests, with Castells asserting that domination of institutionalized power systems will occur if “a majority of people think in ways that are contradictory to the values and norms…enforced by the state” (Castells 2012, …show more content…
Within the research they conducted, it was identified that the use of online links to other protests, united in their cause, generated a network in which individuals were provided with a diverse set of information and opportunities to show further support through signing online petitions (Van Aelst & Walgrave 2002, p.483). Though this case study dictates the successful implementation of the Internet to mobilize action, it can be argued that the ease in showing support online through leaving a comment on an related article or sending an email, encourages the notion of “Slacktivism”, in which individuals perceive themselves to be active in a social movement despite the fact that they are partaking in one of the less effective and inactive ways of enacting social change (Chua 2014). This further reiterates the idea that the Internet results in greater enclosure of the users as the convenience and lack of effort that drives “Slacktivism” undermines the actual political message.
The complex relationship between politics and the Internet reflects the nature of the politics within the network societies as users become intertwined
LITERATURE REVIEW
Peter Van Aelst, Stefaan Wargrave (2002) and Manual Castells (2012) explore the emergence of new media technologies, focusing on the Internet, in relation to it’s role in engaging individuals to perform social movements that are materialized through various forms. This is exemplified in the formation of organized protests, online petitions and campaigns that contribute to a united cause.
Within Van Aelst and Walgrave’s article, the establishment of social movements that are based online are dissected through articulating them through 3 aspects: a shared interest that forms a collective identity, actual mobilization and a network of different organizations (Van Aelst & Walgrave …show more content…
This reflects aspects of audience studies as users are performing “mass self-communication” as a result of their ability to share and contribute to political and social affairs, enlarging the scope of exposure to a particular issue (Castells 2012, p.6). In having the capacity to potentially exert influence through the arguably liberal, democratic and decentralized nature of the online environment by challenging dominant power structures in reality, networks can be understood to have a profound effect on contemporary politics (Castells 2012, p.2). However, in saying this, the question of who truly holds the power becomes evident, to which Castells argues that the political force derived from these networked societies should be considered a “counter-power” to the power that is rooted within the institutions of society (Castells 2012, p.5). In challenging these powers, social actors are able to demand for the representation of their values and interests, with Castells asserting that domination of institutionalized power systems will occur if “a majority of people think in ways that are contradictory to the values and norms…enforced by the state” (Castells 2012, …show more content…
Within the research they conducted, it was identified that the use of online links to other protests, united in their cause, generated a network in which individuals were provided with a diverse set of information and opportunities to show further support through signing online petitions (Van Aelst & Walgrave 2002, p.483). Though this case study dictates the successful implementation of the Internet to mobilize action, it can be argued that the ease in showing support online through leaving a comment on an related article or sending an email, encourages the notion of “Slacktivism”, in which individuals perceive themselves to be active in a social movement despite the fact that they are partaking in one of the less effective and inactive ways of enacting social change (Chua 2014). This further reiterates the idea that the Internet results in greater enclosure of the users as the convenience and lack of effort that drives “Slacktivism” undermines the actual political message.
The complex relationship between politics and the Internet reflects the nature of the politics within the network societies as users become intertwined