The Circulation of Anti-Austerity Protest

verfasst von: Dr. Bart Cammaerts

Verlag: Springer International Publishing

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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In this book a set of theoretical and methodological resources are presented to study the way in which protest, resistance and social movement discourses circulate through society and looks at the role of media and of communication in this process. Empirically, the focus of this book is on the UK’s anti-austerity movement. ‘The Circuit of Protest’, as developed in this volume, is comprised of an analysis of the discourses of the anti-austerity movement and their corresponding movement frames, and the self-mediation practices geared at communicating these. The mainstream media representations and the reception of the movement discourses and frames by non-activist citizens are also studied. It is concluded that studying a movement through the prism of mediation provides a nuanced assessment in terms of failures and successes of the UK’s anti-austerity movement. The book is of relevance to students and researchers of politics, social movements, as well as media and communication, but also to activists.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Chapter 1. Introduction

Abstract

In September 2015, Jeremy Corbyn, a veteran left-winger, won the UK Labour Party leadership election convincingly on a distinctly anti-austerity agenda, despite having pitted himself against the establishment candidates. The result surprised many observers as well as many in the Labour Party, who asked themselves how a somewhat scruffy 67-year-old self-proclaimed socialist had achieved such popularity, especially among young people, in such a short period of time.

Bart Cammaerts

Chapter 2. Situating the Circulation of Protest

Abstract

This chapter presents the book’s conceptual framework. The aim is to theorize the way in which meaning and protest circulate through society. I propose the notion of a Circuit of Protest, inspired by the cultural studies model of a Circuit of Culture in order to make sense of the variety of ways in which media and communication facilitate or mediate social movements, their protest events and the social changes they aim to achieve.

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Chapter 3. The Production of Anti-Austerity Discourses and Frames

Abstract

In this chapter, the moment of production in the Circuit of Protest is addressed in more detail. It is in this moment that the movement discourses are shaped, and frames are articulated with a view to building collective identities and mobilizing for action, and where the actions themselves constitute a way to further reinforce and perform the movement discourses and their framings.

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Chapter 4. The Self-Mediation Practices of the Anti-Austerity Movement

Abstract

In this chapter, the self-mediation moment of the Circuit of Protest is assessed. The self-mediation moment addresses a set of mediation practices of activists. This emphasis on media and communication practices shifts the focus away from the textual and the symbolic towards the material aspects of a mediated struggle, and implicates a mediation repertoire of contentious action.

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Chapter 5. The Media Representation of the Anti-Austerity Movement

Abstract

In this chapter, the moment of representation in the Circuit of Protest is addressed in more detail. Representation, unlike self-mediation, is practised by political actors outside of the movement. While undoubtedly the self-mediation practices of activists and movements play an important role, and arguably have become easier and more widespread thanks to the internet, mobile technologies and social media, it would be wrong to downplay the importance of representation by others. More than two decades ago, Gamson and Wolfsfeld (1993) described social movements and mainstream media as ‘interacting systems’, and, more recently, Rucht (2013: 262) argued that, despite the emergence and increased importance of the internet, ‘[t]o reach the public at large, the key channel was and is getting access to and coverage by the established media’. Their importance is also acknowledged, by activists themselves through their various attempts to manage journalists and influence their own media representations positively.

Bart Cammaerts

Chapter 6. The Reception of Anti-Austerity Discourses and Frames

Abstract

This chapter addresses the reception moment of the Circuit of Protest, and thus implicates the audiences of both movements’ self-mediation practices, and mainstream media representations of movements. The audiences social movements aim to reach are heterogeneous. They consist of state actors, which are able to implement legal change, as well as non-state actors, which can achieve social and cultural change from below (Van Dyke et al. 2004). However, I would argue that they also include the public at large—‘ordinary’, non-activist citizens, those not manning the barricades or participating in direct action.

Bart Cammaerts

Chapter 7. Conclusion: Closing the Circuit

Abstract

In this concluding chapter, I address the mediation opportunity structure, which is characterized by the dynamic interplay between the agentic opportunities and the structural constraints aiming to thwart these opportunities. This represents the dialectic relationship between agency and structure, between generative and restrictive power, and between empowerment and domination, in the context of the various connections identified between media, communication and contentious politics. As the quote above implies, this interplay speaks to the productive nature of power, as articulated by Foucault, whereby forces of domination always and unavoidably engender a variety of resistances.

Bart Cammaerts

Backmatter

Titel: The Circulation of Anti-Austerity Protest
verfasst von: Dr. Bart Cammaerts
Verlag: Springer International Publishing
Electronic ISBN: 978-3-319-70123-3
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-70122-6
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70123-3