Online mobilization and perspective taking in contentious politics Camilo Cristancho-Mantilla* PhD candidate in Political science Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
[email protected] Working paper – Comments welcome Abstract This article presents an approach to the intergroup contact theory focusing on the value of perspective taking as a central premise in a broad conception of democracy as it implies acknowledging conflict and having respect for political adversaries. I look into protest mobilization and the role that movements and civil society organizations play as mediators in contentious politics in the internet and argue that online protest mobilization processes provide bridging between political divides as protest conveyors need to counter-argue adversarial arguments and frames. Three protest events in Spain are studied through surveys of protesters and through network analysis of issue actors online in order to link individual attitudes with intergroup interaction. This approach provides preliminary evidence to support the theory that online mobilization serves as a contact space which affects the disposition of protest participants for considering opposing stances in political conflicts. Keywords: perspective taking, intergroup contact theory, political disagreement, attitudes, mobilization, online politics, social movements To be presented at the X Congress of the Asociación Española de Ciencia Política, Universidad de Murcia, September 7-9, 2011 ______________________ * I gratefully acknowledge financial support from a PhD research grant provided by the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the POLAT research group. Data for the protest surveys is part of the EUROCORES project EUI2008- 03812 - Caught in the Act of protest: Contextualizing Contestation. 1 Introduction Internet use for political mobilization is increasingly capturing the attention of multiple disciplines as many expectations for the effects of online media on civic engagement need to be tested.