New Social Movements and Social Networking Sites' Uses
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New Social Movements and Social Networking Sites’ Uses: Mexicans’ Mobilization for Peace in Mexico Lidia Angeles García González A thesis submitted in partial fulfilme nt of the requirements of Nottingham Trent University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. August 2016 Copyright © 2016 by Lidia Angeles García González 1 Copyright Statement This work is the intellectual property of the author (Note: if there are other owners of the IP, as a consequence of any statement issued under paragraph 12 of Section 14A, they must also be named here). You may copy up to 5% of this work for private study, or personal, noncommercial research. Any re-use of the information contained within this document should be fully referenced, quoting the author, title, university, degree level and pagination. Queries or requests for any other use, or if a more substantial copy is required, should be directed in the owner(s) of the Intellectual Property Rights.” Declaration I, hereby, declare that this dissertation has not been submitted in part or in whole as paperwork for a degree at any other university. I hereby declare that this dissertation is entirely my own work and that all parts and thoughts which have been taken from other persons are marked and identified by reference. Signature:…………………………. Date:……………………………… 2 ABSTRACT The recent political protests around the globe since the uprising in the Arab World, the Indignados movement in Spain, and the Occupy Movement in United States, were broadcast to the world through both the global mainstream and alternative media using many images and reports produced by people on the ground using internet, mobile phones, and social media. These events have triggered a discussion not only about the political changes taking place in the region but have also opened up an academic debate about what changes and transformations may have occurred in the nature of citizens’ political actions and the use of social media to communicate with people around the world. In turn, these political events have also reignited the discussion on social media as transnational public spheres beyond government control and opened to question the ethos of existing attempts at Internet governance by western nation- states. The aim of this thesis is to engage in a theoretical discussion of this political phenomenon through a case study of New Social Movements and social networking sites’ Uses: Mexicans’ mobilization for peace in Mexico, an important element in the development of citizen participation on the Internet focused on in the thesis. In this process, this thesis examines how theoretically social movements have been transformed with the goal of contributing to the debate on the role of new communication technologies in redefining social movements and their potential to transform traditional political practices, such as opening up space to develop temporary alliances with the government, widening political participation in government structures, and/or exercising more influence on the policy-making process. 3 DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my mother, who through all these years has encouraged me in the pursuit of this doctorate outside Mexico, to my husband Eduardo, who has supported me through all the difficult times during this journey and, particularly, to the all innocent children, women, mothers, young people, activists, journalists, immigrants and men that have suffered the injustices of this most unnecessary war on drugs. 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to give special thanks to my supervisors Dr Olga Guedes Bailey, who has believed in me since the time I met her in 2009, for being so incredibly enthusiastic, patient and supportive with my thesis research, and who always was there to listen me during my time at Nottingham Trent University and throughout my time in England. Also, I would like to give a special thanks to my second supervisor Dr Andreas Wittel for always challenging me to develop a critical perspective and for providing me with creative ideas for my thesis. In addition, I would like to give special thanks to my independent assessors, Dr Matt Connell, Dr David Kidner and Dr Natalie Braber for giving special attention and feedback my work, and to examiners Professor Martin O'Shaughnessy and Dr Jairo Lugo-Ocando for their valued insight. I am grateful to my sponsor CONACyT (Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología) - reference 189066/309193- for funding my doctoral studies at Nottingham Trent University during the period 2011-2014. Thanks also to my schoolmates at Nottingham Trent University, Haitham Al-Abri, Ahmed Amer, Siti Suriani Othman, Kornelia Trytko, Farah Wissam Al-Hashimi, Jamile Dalpiaz, Anna Turnaturi, George Agyekum Mensah, Emhamad Elmansori, Nouf Alhuzami, Lorena Nessi García and Mai Salamah, who were always supportive and with whom I shared most of my time during my PhD studies. In addition, I would like to thank the staff of the Graduate School, especially Rebecca Palfrey and Emma Taylor, who was always helpful and kind to me in all my administrative issues, and also to Christine McCall for being – for three- and-a-half years – the most challenging and supportive English teacher I have ever known. My unreserved gratitude also goes to the activists, journalists and experts conceded to be interviewed by me and for their contribution to this study. Finally, I would like to express my particular gratitude to my friends Dolores and Héctor who made my experience in Nottingham so pleasant through their warmth and friendliness, providing a Caribbean family atmosphere so far from home, my sister Ana for being there in my most challenging educational experience abroad, and, for their caring support throughout this whole academic journey, Rev Kara Cooper, S. Bridgette Hamilton, Sheila Fisher, Mick, Robert, Helen Wordley, Helen Clare, Eduardo Cooley, Laura Jaúregui, Nancy Castro, Silvana Cristiano, Dr Héctor Gómez, Dr Diana 5 Sagástegui, Dr Jorge A. González, Dr Jesús Galindo, Paulo César Reynoso, and Paloma Robles. 6 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………… 15 Chapter One INTERNET, SOCIAL NETWORK SITES AND MAINSTREAM MEDIA IN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 1.1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………….. 33 1.2. Social Movements, Mainstream Media and Internet…………………………………………. 34 1.3 Transformations of Social Movements in the Era of Internet and Social Media……………… 44 1.4 Participation in Social Movements and Social Media ………………………………………… 47 1.5 Conceptualizations Created to Understand the Role of Social Media in Social Movements…. 53 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………. 59 Chapter Two THE SOCIAL MOVEMENT THEORY APPROACH TO RESEARCH MOVEMENTS FOR PEACE IN MEXICO 2.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………….………… 61 2.2 Approaches for the Understanding the Concept of Social Movements…………….…………. 62 2.3 Collective Action…………………………………………………………………….………… 65 2.4 Collective Identity…………………………………………………………………….……….. 68 2.5 New Social Movement Theory……………………………………………………………….. 74 2.5.1 Critique to the New Social Movement Theory……………………………………………… 80 2.5.2 Latin American New Social Movements: Theoretical Approaches ...………………………. 83 2.6 Social Movement and New Communication Technologies…………………………………… 92 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………..………… 95 Chapter Three METHODOLOGY FOR SOCIAL MOVEMENT RESEARCH 3.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………… 97 7 3.2 Qualitative Approach for Social Movement Online Research…………………………..…….. 98 3.3 Collection of Data……………………………………………………………………..….….... 103 3.4 Online Interviews for Social Movement Research……………………………………...……. 106 3.5 Online Nonparticipant Observation……………….…………………………………….….... 114 3.6 User Comment Analysis…………………………….……………………………………....... 118 3.7 Ethical Issues………………………………………….……………………………….……... 122 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………..……….... 126 Chapter Four CONTEXTUALISATION OF MEXICAN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS FOR PEACE 4.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………... 128 4.2 The Mexican Humanitarian Tragedy in the Context of the War on Drugs…………………... 129 4.3 The War on Drugs in Mexico (2006-2012)…………………………………………………… 137 4.4 The Role of Media Coverage in the War on Drugs…………………………………………… 145 4.5 The Emergence of Social Movements for Peace in Mexico in the Context of the War on Drugs……………………………………………………………………………………………… 149 4.5.1 Dialogues for Peace with President Calderón………………………………………...…….. 163 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….……….. 170 Chapter Five USES OF SOCIAL NETWORK SITES AND THE INTERNET IN MEXICAN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS FOR PEACE 5.1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………. 172 5.2 Causes of the Upsurge of Social Movements for Peace in Mexico in the Context of the War on Drugs in the View of the Activists and Experts…………………………………………………. 173 5.3 The Relationship between Social Movements for Peace and the Media…………………… 180 5.4 Use of the Internet in Social Movements for Peace…………………………………………. 195 5.4.1 Collective Action in Online Social Movements for Peace in Mexico………………….... 201 8 5.4.2 Collective Identity in Online Social Movements for Peace in Mexico…………………... 207 5.4.3 Surveillance of Digital Activism in Social Movements for Peace in Mexico: ‘Who is our Aggressor?’……………………………………………………………………………………… 217 5.4.4 Brief Note on the Transnationalization of Social Movements for Peace in Mexico……..... 221 5.5 Quantitative Analysis of YouTube Comments on the Social Movement for Peace and Dignity……………………………………………………………………………………………. 223 5.5.1 Qualitative Analysis of the Comments on YouTube Videos……………………………….. 231 5.5.2 The Privileged