The Locus of Control in Networked Communications: Implications for Collective Action

• In Event: Transnational Collective Action and the Public Sphere

Abstract

From the rise of literacy and efficacy of the press and the use of digital media platforms, social movements incorporate repertoires of action. In recent years end-to-end architecture of the internet coupled skilled users has readily supported a wave of digitally enabled contentious politics with increased autonomous action by independent actors. One significant shift has been towards networked entrepreneurial action, decentralized action by motivated individuals on the edges of networks, and a review of the literature documents political, cultural, and technical contributions to networked advocacy and social movements. However, previous research insufficiently analyzes how the locus of control of communications networks play a critical role in supporting or restricting advocacy efforts. This paper defines and analyzes the three contributions of decentralized networked advocacy and offers a framework for understanding how the architecture of networked technologies can support or restrict networked activism.

Author

• James Losey, Stockholm University