Collective Action Off- and Online

• In Event: New Forms of Civic Participation and Collective Action

Abstract

The main issue to be investigated in this paper is whether traditional (offline) forms of collective action are replaced by newer forms of connective action or whether the interaction between online and offline forms of community engagement constitutes two complementary logics. We investigate the effect of online political and voluntary participation on offline political and voluntary participation using panel data from a three-wave survey conducted in Norway in 2012, 2014 and 2016. The findings support the mobilization hypothesis when it comes to political activities such as participation in demonstration and actions. When it comes to volunteering activities such as participation in volunteer-related groups on Facebook, an increased in online participation leads to an increase in offline activities. An exception is the effect of online participation in volunteer-related Facebook groups on voluntary work where we find no effects of online activity on offline activities.

Authors

• Bernard Enjolras, Institute for Social Research

• Kari Steen-Johnsen, Institute for Social Research