Internet-driven changes in environmental NGO action

Abstract

Information and Communication Technologies, considered both as a technological resource and as a social technology, play an important role in the shaping of existing social relations and in the creation of new modes of interaction and social organization (AA. VV., 2000). However, traditional approaches of political action frequently misstate just how politically active citizens are by underrating changes occurred in the realm of political mediation (Norris, 2002, p. 2; Epstein, 1991, p. 230). The changes in the organizational and action repertoires go hand in hand with the specificities of each NGO's cultural interpretative devices, which are influenced by technological change (Zald, 1996, p. 266-270). On the other hand, frames are also subject to internal debate, a process in which ICTs also take part (Webster, 2001, p. 7). Hence, this paper focuses on clarifying the ways in which NGOs have their structure and action repertoires changed by the use of ICTs.