Project No:CIT-CT-2004- 506026 Project acronym: DEMOS Project full title: Democracy in Europe and the Mobilization of Society SIXTH FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME, PRIORITY 7. Citizens and Governance in a Knowledge Based Society SPECIFIC TARGETED RESEARCH OR INNOVATION PROJECT DEMOCRACY IN EUROPE AND THE MOBILIZATION OF SOCIETY. D5 Report on WP2 – SEARCHING THE NET Edited by Donatella della Porta and Lorenzo Mosca (EUI) Due date: 12 Actual delivery date: 12 Start date of project: 1 September 2004. Duration: 3 years Lead Contractors: EUI Project co-funded by the European Commission within the Sixth Framework Programme (2002-2006) Dissemination Level: PU Public Table of contents Chapter 1. Searching the Net (by Donatella della Porta and Lorenzo Mosca)...................5 1.1. Searching the Net: an Introduction........................................................................5 1.2. Democracy in the Internet: a presentation…...………….…….…………………7 1.2.1. Democracy and the Internet: summarizing the debate ..……………......8 1.2.2. Explaining the website’ style: some hypotheses……………………….11 1.2.3. The digital divide: some cross-national information.……………...…..11 1.2.4. The Global Justice Movement in different countries……….....……….13 1.2.5. Organizational resources and strategies………………….…………...14 1.3. Our empirical research: the main choices...…………………..………………...16 1.3.1. Sampling strategy: the selection process of relevant websites…………..16 1.3.2. The codebook for the analysis of websites of SMOs……………………..18 1.3.3. The cross-national organizational characteristics of our samples...........21 1.4. Cross-national comparison of websites’ styles...………………………………..24 1.4.1. Websites and the quality of communication………..……………………24 1.4.2. Identity building and websites……..…………………………………….26 1.4.3. Transparency and accountability on the web……….…………………...31 1.4.4. Mobilization in the web……..…………………………………………...35 1.4.5. Intervening on the digital divide……...………………………………….38 1.5. Organizational structures and websites’ styles………..………………………..40 1.6. References………......……………………………………………………………..43 Chapter 2. French report (by Hélène Combes and Isabelle Sommier).………………….47 2.1. Introduction...…………………………..………………………………………….47 2.2. Selection process of websites of most relevant GJMOs in France………………...47 2.3. General characteristics of the websites …………………………………………...50 2.4. Quality of communication and identity building ….………………………………51 2.5. Usability and transparency …………….…………………………………………53 2.6. Bilateral, multilateral interactivity and alphabetization to Internet ....…………...55 2.7. Strategies of mobilization ...…………….…………………...…………………….57 2.8. Conclusion about national characteristics………………...………………………59 2.9. References…………………...…………….…………………...…………………..60 Chapter 3. German report (by Mundo Yang and Simon Teune)…….…………………..61 3.1. Introduction...…………………………..………………………………………….61 3.2. Selection of websites …………………………………………………….………...62 3.3. Sample characteristics ………………….…………………………………………63 3.4. Usability aspects………………………………….. ….…………………………...64 1 3.5. Providing information……..…………….………………………………………...65 3.6. Displaying identities……………………………………………………......……...68 3.7. Websites as places for mobilisation….……...……………………………………..69 3.8. Interactivity…………………………………..…………………………………….71 3.9. Narrowing the Gap along the Digital Divide ……………………………………..72 3.10. Conclusions…………………………………….………………………………...73 Chapter 4. Italian report (by Lorenzo Mosca)…………….………………………………75 4.1. Introduction...…………………………..………………………………………….75 4.2. Selection process of websites of the most relevant GJMOs in Italy.………………76 4.3. Quality of communication ………………………………………………………...79 4.4. Building identities online …………………………….……………………………82 4.5. A transparent web-presence?..………….…………………………………………87 4.6. Strategies of mobilization ...…………….…………………………………………89 4.7. Intervention on the digital divide……….………………………………………….92 4.8. Some conclusions …………………………..……………………………………...94 4.9. References…………………...…………….…………………………………….....95 Chapter 5. Spanish report (by Manuel Jiménez and Ángel Calle)……….………………96 5.1. Introduction about the Spanish sample.………………..……………..…………...96 5.2. Internet: context and use………………………………………………...………...98 5.3. Describing Spanish features ……………………………………………………....98 5.3.1. Quality of communication.……………………………………………..98 5.3.2. Identity, transparency and organisational structure…………………100 5.3.3. A Structure for Mobilisation.…………………………………………101 5.3.4. Digital divide……………...…………………………………………..103 5.3.5. Communication versus action..……………………………………….103 5.4. GJMs features on the Internet ……………………….…………………………..104 5.5. Exploring grouping……………...……….……………………………………….105 5.5.1. WSF/ATTAC and PGA/neo-zapatism/Euromarches………………….105 5.5.2. Internal GJM links……..……………………………...……………...109 5.5.3. Post Seattle versus Pre Seattle.……………………………………….110 5.6. From collective action to Internet expression: Spanish factors………………….111 5.7. Virtual versus real dynamics ……….……………………..……………………..112 5.8. References…………………………..………………………….……………........113 5.9. Appendix A………………...…………….………………………..………………114 5.10. Appendix B…………………...………….………………………………………115 5.11. Appendix C…………………...…………….…………………………………...116 2 Chapter 6. Swiss report (by Nina Eggert and Marco Giugni).………………………….117 6.1. Introduction...……..……………………..……………………………………….117 6.2. Websites selection …...…………………………………………………….……..118 6.3. Quality of communication ……………………………………………………….121 6.4. Building identities online ……………………………….………………………..124 6.5. Transparency ………………....…..……….……………………………………..125 6.6. Mobilization ……………......……..……….……………………………………..127 6.7. Digital divide……………………...……….……………………………………..128 6.8. Conclusion…………………………..………..…………………………………..129 Chapter 7. United Kingdom report (by Clare Saunders and Chris Rootes)….………..131 7.1. Introduction...…………………………..………………………………………...131 7.2.1. Selecting the most relevant GJMOs in Britain.………………………...131 7.2.2. Organizations selected...……..………………………………………...134 7.3. Quality of communication...….………………….. ….…………………………..142 7.4. Building identities online …….………………….. ….…………………………..148 7.5. A transparent web-presence?..………….………………………………………..151 7.6. Strategies of mobilization……………………………………………….....……..152 7.7. Resolving the digital divide.…………….………………………………………..155 7.8. Conclusions ……………………………………………………………………...157 7.9. References…………………...…………….……………………………………...159 Chapter 8. Transnational report (by Raffaele Marchetti and Duccio Zola)…………...160 8.1. Introduction about the Spanish sample...………………..……………………….160 8.1.1. Geographical scope: transnational/international……………………160 8.1.2. Organizational structure: either networks or single-organizations….161 8.1.3. World-wide coverage (Europe, North and South America, Asia)…….161 8.1.4. Issue-oriented……...……...…………………………………………..161 8.1.5. Main activity: either action-oriented or research-oriented ……..…...162 8.1.6. Forms of action: either radical or reformist …………………………162 8.1.7. Trade and food sovereignty-related…………………………………..162 8.1.8. Transnational events and meta-networks ….………………………...162 8.2. Quality of communication ……………………………………………………….163 8.3. Identity building ……………………………………….…………………………164 8.4. Transparency ………………....………….………………………………………165 8.5. Mobilisation ……………......…………….………………………………………166 8.6. Digital divide……………………..……….……………………………………...167 8.7. Conclusions..………………………………..……………………………………169 8.8. Appendix…..…………………...…………….…………………………………...170 3 Appendix A: lists of SMOs by national teams……………………………………………172 1. Guidelines for the sampling……………………………………………………....172 2. France……………………….……………………………………………………174 3. Germany…………………….………………………………………………….…176 4. Italy…………………………..…………………………………………………...178 5. Spain………………………………………………………………………………180 6. Switzerland………………....…………………………………………………......182 7. United Kingdom…………....……………………………………………………..184 8. Transnational level………...……………………………………………………..186 Appendix B: codebook for the analysis of SMOs………………………………………...187 a) Presentation……………………...…………………………………………….…187 b) Basic coding instructions…………………………………………………………189 c) Some general suggestions to coders..…………………………………………….189 d) About documents to be recorded..………………………………………………..190 e) Glossary………………………………………...………………………………...190 f) Variables for the coding…………………………………………………………..193 Appendix C: results of the reliability test………………………………………………...205 4 Chapter 1. Searching the Net by Donatella della Porta and Lorenzo Mosca 1.1. Searching the Net: an Introduction The Demos project analyses the evolution of the conceptions and practices of participatory forms of democracy within social movement organizations (SMOs). The Work Package 2 (Searching the Net) of the project focuses on the online presence of SMOs belonging to the Global Justice Movement (GJM) in six different countries (France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and United Kingdom) and on networks and campaigns active at the transnational level. The main goal of this report consists in evaluating the way in which social movement organizations belonging to the GJM use the Internet as an instrument for spreading information, constructing identities, involving new members, mobilizing on- and off-line and to intervene on the digital divide. Additionally, we shall reflect upon the extent to which the use of the Internet influences and/or reflects the movement’s practices and conceptions of democracy. One driving hypothesis of this part of the research is that new interactive technologies (such as the Internet) could facilitate the participation of members to the life of an organization and their involvement