ICTs in national and transnational mobilizations

  • Alice Mattoni European University Institute, Social and Political Sciences Department
Keywords: ICTs, transnational movements, precarity, media practices

Abstract

This article deals with the use of ICTs in national and transnational mobilizations. The case study under investigation is the Euro Mayday Parade (EMP) against precarity, which occurred at both the national and transnational level. The articles focus on three aspects of social movement activities. First, organizational processes in which ICTs are used at both the national and transnational level of the EMP in combination with face-to-face interactions, which play an important role in sustaining protest planning. Second, identification processes in which ICTs have a more important impact at the transnational level than at the national level of the EMP. Third, ICTs are not only seen as opportunities but also as challenges that activist groups involved in the EMP had to deal with in the preparation of the EMP. In presenting these results, the article suggests that a comparison between the national and transnational level of the same protest campaign could highlight new aspects in the use of ICTs, which deserve further investigation.

Author Biography

Alice Mattoni, European University Institute, Social and Political Sciences Department
Alice Mattoni is a PhD candidate at the European University Institute in the Social and Political Sciences Department. Her current research interests are media practices performed by activists, public discourse construction and struggles against precarity.
Published
2008-12-21
Section
Special issue: ICTs and Society-Network-PhD Consortium 2010