5 Edsa 2 – a Historical Overview
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DIPLOMARBEIT Titel der Diplomarbeit „The SMS – Revolution“ The impact of mobile phones on political protest using the example of the EDSA II movement in the Philippines in 2001 Verfasserin Vera Santner angestrebter akademischer Grad Magistra der Philosphie (Mag. phil.) Wien, März 2010 Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt: A 307 Studienrichtung lt. Studienblatt: Kultur- und Sozialanthropologie Betreuer: Ao. Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Hermann Mückler 3 Abstract Abstract (English) In mass protests new media like internet and mobile phones are increasingly playing a central role. In the past year, this was especially obvious in the protests in Moldavia and in Iran. The so called EDSA 2 uprising in the Philippines in 2001 was one of the first cases when mobile phones and especially text messages (are said to) have contributed to the mobilization of thousands of protesters. This massive civil protest that blocked one of Manila’s main traffic arteries, contributed significantly to the downfall of President Joseph Estrada. The euphoria of such events and the novelty of the use of mobile phones carry with it the danger of an uncritical celebration of technology and of a lacking contextualization of their role in the events. Widespread techno-deterministic views linked to notions of modernity enhance the tendency to assign the technology with agency and thus ignore those that are actually using it. My thesis thus presents an extensive analysis of the role that mobile phones played in this protest. A pluralist view accounting for social and political contexts allows for the complexity of the involved processes. Drawing on Victor Turner’s concepts of communitas and liminality, I analyze the power attributed to the mobile phone. Abstract (German) Bei Massenprotesten spielen zunehmend neue Medien wie das Internet und das Mobiltelefon eine zentrale Rolle. Im vergangenen Jahr haben das vor allem Proteste in Moldawien und im Iran deutlich gemacht. Einer der ersten Fälle, in dem Mobiltelefone und besonders SMS zur Mobilisierung von tausenden Protestierenden beigetragen haben (sollen), ist der so genannte EDSA 2 Aufstand auf den Philippinen im Jahr 2001. Der massive zivile Protest, der vier Tage lang eine der Hauptverkehrsadern Manilas blockierte, trug maßgeblich zum Sturz des damaligen Präsidenten Joseph Estrada bei. Die Euphorie solcher Ereignisse und die Neuheit des Einsatzes von Mobiltelefonen bergen die Gefahr eines unkritischen „Hochjubelns“ der Technologie sowie einer fehlenden Kontextualisierung ihrer Rolle bei den Ereignissen. Weitverbreitete techno- deterministische Ansichten verknüpft mit Auffassungen der Moderne verstärken die Tendenz, der Technologie Handlungsmacht zuzuschreiben und die eigentlich Handelnden zu ignorieren. Meine Diplomarbeit stellt daher eine umfassende Analyse der Rolle, die Mobiltelefone bei diesem Protest gespielt haben, dar. Durch eine pluralistische, existierende soziale und politische Kontexte berücksichtigende Sichtweise wird der Komplexität der involvierten Prozesse Rechnung getragen. Mit Hilfe Victor Turners Konzepten Communitas und Liminalität wird die dem Mobiltelefon zugeschriebene Macht genauer beleuchtet. 4 5 Acknowledgement The first page of my thesis I want to dedicate to all those to whom I want to express my full gratitude for their active support throughout the whole development process of my thesis: All my thanks go to Mitzi Austero and the many other people in the Philippines who with their hospitality and unique humor made my stay not only successful as regards my research work but pleasant and inspiring. Especially I want to thank all my interview partners for the insights they gave me in Philippine politics and society. I wish them the strength and energy to keep to their vision of a better future for the Philippines and to continue doing their work with never-ending enthusiasm. I would like to thank the staff and members of the Third World Studies Center in Quezon City, Philippines, for their support and cooperation during my research period. My thanks go to Prof. Hermann Mückler from my home faculty at the University of Vienna for the supervision of my thesis, as well as to Stefan Khittel for all his support and especially for his helpful advice for my research in the Philippines. A big “Thank you” for the proof-reading of my work and all her moral and motherly support goes to my mother, Helga. Finally, I want to thank also all my family and friends who morally supported me throughout the realization of my project and without whom it could not have been completed. 6 7 Contents 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 10 1.1 Formulation of the problem .................................................................................................. 11 1.2 State of research ..................................................................................................................... 12 1.3 Own research interest ............................................................................................................ 14 1.4 Central research questions .................................................................................................... 15 1.5 Assumptions ........................................................................................................................... 16 1.6 Methodical approach ............................................................................................................. 16 1.7 Outline of contents ................................................................................................................. 18 2 DEFINITIONS .................................................................................................................... 21 2.1 Definitions ............................................................................................................................... 21 2.1.1 Artifact ..................................................................................................................................................... 22 2.1.2 Device and machine ................................................................................................................................. 23 2.1.3 Technology .............................................................................................................................................. 24 2.1.4 Material culture ........................................................................................................................................ 25 2.2 The cell phone as a part of material culture ........................................................................ 25 2.3 Social science research on the cell phone ............................................................................. 26 2.3.1 Interaction between technology and society ............................................................................................ 27 2.3.2 The Standard View of technology ............................................................................................................ 29 2.3.3 Global impact of the cell phone ............................................................................................................... 30 2.3.4 Commercial and academic research ......................................................................................................... 31 3 THE POLITICAL POTENTIAL OF CELL PHONES ................................................... 33 3.1 Debate on the political impact of cell phones ...................................................................... 33 3.2 Networking logic of communication process ....................................................................... 35 3.2.1 Smart mobs .............................................................................................................................................. 36 3.2.2 Viral politics and viral political marketing .............................................................................................. 37 3.3 Political mobilization ............................................................................................................. 38 3.4 Coordination of protests and campaigns ............................................................................. 39 3.5 Independent information ...................................................................................................... 40 3.6 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 41 4 MOBILE TELEPHONY IN THE PHILIPPINES ........................................................... 43 4.1 The development of telecommunications in the Philippines .............................................. 44 8 4.2 What makes mobile phones so popular in the Philippines? ............................................... 45 4.2.1 Manila’s mobile mania............................................................................................................................. 47 4.3 Filipinas’ and Filipinos’ love of texting ................................................................................ 48 4.3.1 Generation Txt ......................................................................................................................................... 49 4.4 Representing the way modernity is manifested in the Philippines .................................... 50 4.5 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................