52,625 research outputs found
Adding fuel to the flames: how TTIP reinvigorated the politicization of trade
It is a truism to state that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is a politicized issue, yet the explanations that account for this politicization are mostly singular in nature. In this paper I add to this understanding theoretically and empirically by presenting a broad analytic framework that puts TTIP at the intersection of two evolutions. There is, firstly, a longer-term trend of increasing political authority of (European) trade policy that is (at least by several organizations and citizens) not considered legitimate. I argue that TTIP is an extension and an intensification of this perceived authority-without-legitimacy trend. Secondly, the particular explosive situation that has occurred since 2013 is furthermore the result of a specific combination of a favoring political opportunity structure, combined with pre-existing mobilization resources that have facilitated a large mobilization by civil society organizations. This explains the spike of politicization that is attached onto this longer term trend. Relying on several exploratory interviews, I try to uncover the determinants in the different categories
Activismo ciudadano y acontecimientos polĂticos en la transformaciĂłn de la esfera pĂșblica digital en españa: del sms ÂĄpĂĄsalo! a Podemos
This paper discusses digital communication, activism and political system in Spain from a
critical-historical perspective. The results of combined empirical and analytical research
indicate that a critical digital public sphere emerged in 2004 affecting the evolution of
the political sphere to this day. Traditional parties had a slow and instrumental approach
to the digital realm. Conversely, cyber-activism unfolded new options of political action,
both in the short and long term, transforming the bipartisan system.El artĂculo aborda la comunicaciĂłn digital, el activismo y el sistema polĂtico en España desde
una perspectiva crĂtica-histĂłrica. Los resultados de una investigaciĂłn empĂrica y analĂtica
indican que en 2004 surgiĂł una esfera pĂșblica digital crĂtica que afectĂł la evoluciĂłn de
la esfera polĂtica hasta hoy. Los partidos tradicionales se acercaron al entorno digital de
manera lenta e instrumental. En cambio, el ciberactivismo abriĂł nuevas opciones de acciĂłn
polĂtica, a corto y largo plazo, transformando el sistema bipartidista
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The social media parameter on protest movement mobilization: the case study of the Greek Aganaktismenoi movement
This thesis concerns an inquiry into the social media parameter on protest movement mobilization. In particular, it investigates how the use of social media in the contemporary, heavily mediatized environment âcontested by the emergence of the media manifold and the increasing interdependence of social relations- affect the way citizens mobilize on an unprecedented scale and velocity. It looks at the possible effects this social-media led mobilization has on participantsâ sense of political efficacy -their belief in their agencyâs capacity to inflict political change- as well as its relation to the public sphere on a national and transnational level. To illustrate this, the author uses the case of the Greek Aganaktismenoi movement, which was active between May and November 2011.
The research questions of this thesis touch two main areas: social mobilization in a heavily mediatized environment; and the role of digital and social media platforms in the development of this new-type of movements.
This thesis proposes a post-constructivist, multiparadigm theoretical approach, combining critical theories of media and sociology with a research tool from political communication. This is reflected in the adapted methodology; more specifically, a qualitative approach, based on ethnomethodology, supported by a mixed methods design, namely an emergent sequential exploratory triangulation design, complimenting reflexive empirical work.
One of the key findings of this research was the nexus of social media-led mobilization and political naivety which characterized the initial large crowds of participants. This signifies, that the autonomized, a-political nature of the social media who played the role of the ââorganizing groundsââ of the movement, affected the participantsâ capacity to display actual and effective counterpower. However, this thesis argues that social mediaâs heritage on protest movement mobilization, in the case of the Aganaktismenoi, was observed in the form of three pillars of emancipation: 1) Legitimation of collective decisions via their publication in social media, 2) Personal responsibility for posted material and 3) The realization of the potential of a latent direct-democratic prospect. A novice feature of this research is the proven direct relation between participating in this new type of social-media led mobilizations and enhanced levels of participantsâ political efficacy.
Future research is needed to explore further the relationship between digital media as tools of mediated mobilization and political efficacy of the participants in such protest mobilizations, as well as the implications of mediatization on protest movementsâ longevity and the quality of the political discourse produced and popularized during digital media-led mobilizations
Taking the Harper Governmentâs Refugee Policy to Court
There is no question that significant changes occurred in Canadian refugee policy under the Conservative government of Stephen Harper during its near ten years in power. Indeed, observers note that virtually no aspect was left untouched. The effects of many of these alterations are still unfolding, and while the subsequent Liberal government of Justin Trudeau committed itself to reversing or altering some of them, many will likely be preserved.
In this chapter, we focus on changes that occurred to Canadaâs inland refugee policy with two larger goals in mind. First, we de-mystify the role of the courts in shaping refugee policy in Canada. Second, we contribute to a growing body of work that reflects on the contentious relationship between the Harper government and the courts. In particular, the chapter examines the mobilization that occurred through and beyond the courts in response to the governmentâs 2012 cuts to the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) for refugees. Our research shows that while the role of the courts in overseeing Canadian refugee policy is generally quite limited, significant mobilization on behalf of refugees inside and outside the courts occurred in response to the Harper governmentâs particularly rights-restrictive approach. Overall, we argue that in order to understand the relationship between the courts and public policy, it is necessary to appreciate the broader policy and political contours within which court rulings emerge, and the specific contexts that prompt court involvement in the first instance
Who qualifies for citizenship: The political and legal mobilization of Muslims in France
This article aims to deconstruct the monolithic image of Muslims that is often presented in the
media, politics, and academia today. Based on interview work completed in 2008 in France with
Muslim activists and non-activists, as well as non-Muslim activists on diversity issues, the article
explores the complex group affiliations and varying interest formation of Muslims in France.
Instead of assuming that being Muslim is simply a religious affiliation that drives political
interest formation, I explore the social situatedness of Muslims in France, and how that specific
situation produces a multiplicity of group affiliations, all with their own spectrum of political
interests, as well as resources and methods for mobilizing on those interests. The article also
explores French legal consciousness â what do these Muslim activists and non-activists think of
law and courts? I show that some preexisting American political science literature on French
legal consciousness may have misunderstood the complex and intense relationship the French
have with law
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Exploring the democratic potential of online social networking: The scope and limitations of e-participation
Copyright © 2012 by the Association for Information Systems.The availability and promise of social networking technologies with their perceived open philosophy has increasingly inspired citizens around the world to participate in political activity on the Web. Recent examples range from opposing public policies, such as government funding cuts, to organizing revolutionary social movements, such as those in the Middle East and North Africa. Although online spaces create remarkable opportunities for various forms of political action, there are concerns over the power of existing institutions to control and even censor such interaction spaces. The objective of this article is to draw together different insights on the online engagement phenomenon, highlighting both its potential and limitations as a mechanism for fostering democratic debate and influencing policy making. We examine recent examples from Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. Finally, we summarize the implications of our work and outline directions for further research
Net neutrality discourses: comparing advocacy and regulatory arguments in the United States and the United Kingdom
Telecommunications policy issues rarely make news, much less mobilize thousands of people. Yet this has been occurring in the United States around efforts to introduce "Net neutrality" regulation. A similar grassroots mobilization has not developed in the United Kingdom or elsewhere in Europe. We develop a comparative analysis of U.S. and UK Net neutrality debates with an eye toward identifying the arguments for and against regulation, how those arguments differ between the countries, and what the implications of those differences are for the Internet. Drawing on mass media, advocacy, and regulatory discourses, we find that local regulatory precedents as well as cultural factors contribute to both agenda setting and framing of Net neutrality. The differences between national discourses provide a way to understand both the structural differences between regulatory cultures and the substantive differences between policy interpretations, both of which must be reconciled for the Internet to continue to thrive as a global medium
Identity crisis: how ideological and rhetorical failures cost Egyptians their revolution
Thesis (M.A.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2019The Egyptian uprising, which began on January 25, 2011, and ended on February 11, 2011, culminated in the ending of President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year reign as dictator. After free elections in which the Muslim Brotherhood ascended to power in the country, they were ousted in a military coup d'eÌtat only one year after their ascension to power and were replaced by former military general Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi. The symptoms which led the country to rise up against Mubarak continue to exist under el-Sisi today, indicating that no revolution really took place. This paper answers the question, "why did the revolution fail?", offering a rhetorical reason for the revolution's failure. The uprisings, which were billed as decentralized, offer unique opportunities for analysis of rhetorical strategy. This paper uses the reconstitutive-discourse model, a critical model which examines a rhetor's reconstitution of their audience's character, to examine the rhetoric of three different parties in the revolution. First, it examines the rhetoric of all protestors irrespective of source via Twitter and on the ground protestors; next it looks at the rhetoric of Wael Ghonim, who is credited with instigating the uprisings, and Mohammed ElBaradei, an influential figure who became interim vice-president in the aftermath of the uprisings. The study found that first, the uprisings were not really decentralized and indeed has leaders. Further, rhetorical failures on the part of its leaders caused the uprisings to fail in their goal of democratic revolution
Net neutrality discourses: comparing advocacy and regulatory arguments in the United States and the United Kingdom
Telecommunications policy issues rarely make news, much less mobilize thousands of people. Yet this has been occurring in the United States around efforts to introduce "Net neutrality" regulation. A similar grassroots mobilization has not developed in the United Kingdom or elsewhere in Europe. We develop a comparative analysis of U.S. and UK Net neutrality debates with an eye toward identifying the arguments for and against regulation, how those arguments differ between the countries, and what the implications of those differences are for the Internet. Drawing on mass media, advocacy, and regulatory discourses, we find that local regulatory precedents as well as cultural factors contribute to both agenda setting and framing of Net neutrality. The differences between national discourses provide a way to understand both the structural differences between regulatory cultures and the substantive differences between policy interpretations, both of which must be reconciled for the Internet to continue to thrive as a global medium
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