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ID:
175527
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Summary/Abstract |
This study examines whether social media contributed to the success of the Korean presidential impeachment protests of 2016–17 and promoted participatory democracy. The 2016–17 candlelight protests contributed to the overthrowing of a corrupt regime. However, was it a victory of participatory democracy? To answer this question, we must first be clear on what kind of participatory democracy is being referred to. Therefore, while social media played a crucial role in the success of the protests, the impact of social media on participatory democracy should be addressed separately. For this purpose, we first analyse the contributions of the digitally connected movements during the 2016–17 protests with two social movement theories: resource mobilisation and collective identity. Second, we examine whether the success of digitally connective movements during those protests promoted participatory democracy. To discuss this issue, we use Arnstein’s concept of a ‘ladder of participation’, which describes participatory democracy as falling within three levels, from non-participation through tokenism to citizen power. This study shows that the proliferation of social media politics by itself does not convert representative democracy into participatory democracy. This implies that even if social media augments citizens’ power of resistance, it cannot transform citizens into a governing power.
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2 |
ID:
164805
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Summary/Abstract |
Previous studies have shown that social media is effective in large-scale mobilization, facilitating leaderless and more flexible forms of resistance. However, some scholars argue that this type of mobilization suffers from a lack of organizational form and collective identity. This paper shows that social media-centered networks can in fact promote collective actions powerful enough to challenge a corrupt president. We also prove the role of emotions in collective actions. Using an empirical analysis of the 2016 Presidential Impeachment Protests surrounding “Choi Soon-sil Gate,” we first demonstrate the effects of social media activities on participation in collective actions. Next, we explore the effects of anger on social media activities and participation. In short, this study reveals a new angle on social media’s influence in mobilizing collective actions by analyzing the effect of emotions on participation. In this process, social media activities are escalated by emotional outbreaks, and participation then increases throughout a given collective action.
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