Social media and collective action: The case of gas extraction in Groningen

Description

The notion that social media can revolutionize collective action is widespread – as exemplified by popular terminology such as “Twitter revolution” or “Facebook revolution” for the Arab Spring uprisings. Although the interpretation that social media can actually cause collective action seems too simplified, such online developments drastically changed the environment in which protests emerge. Indeed, modern communication technologies blur the distinction between interpersonal and mass communication. Hence, the relation between communication behaviours and mass behaviours is currently in the spotlight of attention. The question how online behaviours on social media relate to offline collective action is essential for social scientists as well as for policy makers and social movements. In this talk, I would like to tell you about a multi-method research project we conducted over the last couple of years in Groningen, for the Dutch ministry of justice and security / national coordinator for security and counterterrorism.

Periode	30-apr.-2019
Gehouden op	Leiden University, Netherlands