Transnational dimensions in digital activism and protest

Abstract

This themed issue provides an international perspective on transnational processes in digital activism and protest. Against wider claims that social movements and citizen activism are shifting from the logic of spatial organization to networked flows, this themed issue foregrounds the interplay between the global and local in networked public spheres. Recent transnational movements such as #MeToo or Black Lives Matter yield the importance of interweaving digital communication, pre-existing activist collectives, and citizen activation on a seemingly global scale. In this Introduction, we ask how political causes circulate globally, what role digital technologies play, and ultimately, what "transnational" means for seemingly universal causes, global collective identity, and activist practice. After providing an overview of the different theoretical insights that an interdisciplinary approach to digital activism can provide, we outline a conceptual framework for approaching the transnational as an entanglement of flows, hierarchies, and agencies.

Up in the air: Ritualized atmospheres and the global Black Lives Matter movement

“…Much work on BLM has rightly emphasized the central role of social media in spreading digital images, tweets, videos, memes, and associated narratives (Sorce and Dumitrica, 2022). Other work on transnational movements identifies a number of factors on how movements spread across borders, such as activists' social networks, particular framings of events, and forms of organization, and are increasingly applied to studying BLM (Oliver, 2021).…”

“…Other work on transnational movements identifies a number of factors on how movements spread across borders, such as activists' social networks, particular framings of events, and forms of organization, and are increasingly applied to studying BLM (Oliver, 2021). Recent work on BLM emphasizes shifting patterns of organization toward greater connections between the global and the local in online public spheres and how the use of digital technology intersects with often pre-existing activist networks during mobilization events (Sorce and Dumitrica, 2022). A focus on the collective affects of ritualizations-ritualized atmospheres-both complements many of these works insofar as such atmospheres can feature both physically and digitally online and unpacks the affective conditions within which many of these other factors operate that are usually neglected in current work.…”

Çevi̇ri̇ Sosyal Medya Akti̇vi̇zmi̇ni̇n Bi̇r Araci Hali̇ne Geli̇rse: #Avci Örneği̇

“…In general terms, from a perspective that focuses on social movements, the notion of 'social media activism' is used to characterize oppositional political, antagonistic or alternative collective action that is facilitated or supported by new information technologies (Cammaerts, 2015;Neumayer and Svensson, 2016;Sierra-Caballero, 2018). Agendas may vary widely depending on the unique context of each collective action and so do the scale and scope, with a range from transnational to regional and from nationwide to local activism (Lonkila, Shpakovskaya and Torchinsky;Nordenson, 2017;Rahman and Hasan, 2022;Sorce and Dumitrica, 2022). Social media activism is also diverse in terms of types and means of participation, including and extending beyond practices such as hashtags, boycotts, online groups and pages, video streaming and photo sharing (Neumayer and Svensson, 2016: 131).…”

Situating #MeToo: a comparative analysis of the movement in Catalonia and Portugal

“…The events that triggered #MeToo in the US became common knowledge in contexts as physically distant as Portugal or Spain, presented alongside and interrelated with local events and debates. In this context, issues like misogyny or sexual assault become shared globalized concerns, with political causes circulating beyond its points of origin, and often being adapted to the realities of new local contexts (Sorce and Dumitrica, 2022). In response, practices of digital activism can gain transnational dimensions, enabling cross-cultural coalitions and cooperation (Sorce and Dumitrica, 2022: 158).…”

“…Despite its global scale, research on #MeToo has privileged a US-centric perspective (Quan-Haase et al, 2021). Therefore, it is essential to remain critical of overly-optimistic claims of ‘global feminism’, which risk becoming universalizing and reductive, often reinforcing existing power differentials that centre issues relevant to the Global North (Sorce and Dumitrica, 2022: 159).…”