Social Media and Political Protest in Romania
From the Babes-Bolyai University in Romania comes a study by Toma Burean and Gabriel Badescu following the change in composition and issues of protestors and among other factors, the role of social media in this change. In contrast to previous years, when small numbers and harsh penalties from authorities characterized Romanian protests, 2012 saw the beginning of a trend of large scale protests against a perceived increasingly authoritarian government that threatened the country’s democracy. Researchers begin by discussing Romania’s legacy of protest, one that stems from the communist era. In contrast to the most recent trend, protest in the communist era were carried out by either small groups of individuals. The study attributes the lack of larger protests, such as those in neighboring communist countries like Poland and Hungary to, “relative deprivation and availability of resources for mobilization”. Weak networks and unions are attributed with the weak protests. The success and increased size of protests in the decades following the fall of communism are attributed to stronger unions and the spread of mass media and a mobilizing tool. Despite drawing attention and support, these protests lacked diversity as they relied heavily on unions. The newest incarnation of Romanian protest is a diverse group of people organizing via social media with a wide variety of causes.
The past approximately 70 decades of political protest, especially when compared with the last few years, help reveal and aspect of the power of the internet and social networks online. The study states clearly that, “online activities have positive effects on offline political participation”. The internet provides new channels for information, in this case discontent with the government, to spread. Previously, Romanians were largely restricted to their immediate social networks and perhaps local or national unions. With more access to the internet, potential protesters have been able to reach out to each other and create new networks. As the accompanying image shows, a significant percentage of social media users utilize it as a resource for political activism. The findings of this study display the role of online resources in expanding an individual’s network. Like unions, social networks are able to connect large groups of people with a common cause and facilitate mobilization and protest movements. Built on the idea of continually adding connections as well as maintaining and organizing current connections, social networks provide a perfect new tool to cultivate meaningful networks that can be used mobilized for any number of increasingly diverse and shared causes.
Internet and Social Media Use of Surveyed Romanians
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967067X14000695