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Mortell, Marianne

University of British Columbia

This thesis argues that the internet impacts social movement mobilization in multiple ways which diverge from the expectations of traditional theories, necessitating the revision of theories to account for these effects. I conduct a comparative case study analysis of gender-based violence and anti-abortion movements over time, as they emerged and resurged in different phases in the United States in the 1970s and 2010s respectively. Drawing on various data sources, from historical news articles to Twitter and Instagram posts, I qualitatively analyze the grievances, resources, political opportunities, and cultural frames which characterize each phase of each movement. The findings demonstrate that in the digital age, the internet may be used as an organizational resource, as a means of circumventing political constraints to mobilize in challenging political contexts, as a way for movements to appeal to broader audiences beyond traditional support bases, and as a tool for audiences to engage in the construction of cultural frames alongside professional movement leaders and organizations. These effects differ across movements, suggesting that future research could investigate under which conditions online tools can lead to particular effects.

Text

2023-09-01

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/85775

Political Science

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/