The logic of connective action: Digital media and the personalization of contentious politics
Citation: W. Lance Bennett, Alexandra Segerberg (2012) The logic of connective action: Digital media and the personalization of contentious politics. Information, communication & society (RSS)
DOI (original publisher): https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2012.670661
Semantic Scholar (metadata): https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2012.670661
Sci-Hub (fulltext): https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2012.670661
Internet Archive Scholar (search for fulltext): The logic of connective action: Digital media and the personalization of contentious politics
Tagged: Sociology
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Summary
Bennett and Segerberg elaborate a theory of connective action as an extension and elaboration of Mancur Olson’s collective action, as a reflection of and response to observed recent forms of social movements. Responding to such movements as the Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street, and los indignados, they describe the emergent uses of technology to coordinate protest activity despite the absence of formal organizations. They describe this pattern as Digitally Networked Action (DNA) emphasizing personalizable ideas and personal communications. For Bennett and Segerberg, the logic of collective action is oriented toward a weighing of costs and benefits for individuals, the monitoring of free riders, and the development of formal organizational structures; for collective action entities, digital technology is useful and reduces costs, but does not fundamentally reshape their activities. By contrast, connective action is an alternative model emphasizing fluid social networks, no substantial need for organizational control or development of a unified shared identity; connective action entities make use of multiple emergent technologies to constitute and sustain their efforts.
Theoretical and Practical Relevance
Theories of connective action offer perspective on modern social movements and how they may differ from more traditional movements characterized through collective action.
