Rethinking Ideology in the Age of Global Discontent: Bridging Divides

Description

Over the last decade, anti-government demonstrations worldwide have brought together individuals and groups that were often assumed unlikely to unite for a common cause due to differences in ideological tendencies. They have particularly highlighted the role of youth, women, social media, and football clubs in establishing unusual alliances between far left and far right groups and/or secular and religious segments of the society. In this wide-ranging volume, the contributors question to what extent political ideologies have lost their explanatory power in contemporary politics and society. This book aims to contribute to the ongoing debates about the relationship between ideology and public protests by introducing the global context that allows the comparison of societies in different parts of the world in order to reveal the general patterns underlying the global era. Tackling a highly topical issue, this book will be of particular interest to students and scholars of international relations, social movements and globalization. Cover Half Title Book Title Copyright Dedication Table of Contents List of tables Notes on contributors Introduction: rethinking ideology and protests in the age of globalization – bridging divides Outline of the book References Part I Dissent, connectivity and communication in apost-ideological world 1 Mere connection? The transformative impact of new media on insurrectionary and usual politics Introduction Discourses of change and stability Reflections on the logic of connective action The Arab Spring … Internet centrism or new sites of contention? Terrorist networking Conclusion Notes References 2 Anti-austerity protest and democratic vision: the struggle for a new politics – the case of the Greek “Do Not Pay”social movement Introduction The rise of European anti-austerity movements Anti-austerity resistance in Greece Methodological approach “Us” versus “them” framing – the people contra the elites Grassroots forms of dissent and micro acts of resistance Conclusion Acknowledgements Notes References 3 The role of social media-based citizen journalism practices in the formation of contemporary protest movements Introduction Social media and traditional politics Emergence of citizen journalism at Gezi Park protests Elements of a citizen journalism success story Conclusion Note References Part II Comparative perspectives on social change and political activism 4 Common man’s upsurge against a common “nuisance”: the anti-corruption movement in India Introduction Meanderings of the movement Context 24 frames per second Revolution Bridges’ underbelly: ideology of the movement Conclusion Note References 5 The “new” Tahrir Square: from protesting to occupying public space as a global pattern of contestation Introduction Public mobilization in an authoritarian context Public space occupation Public space occupation and the shift in the Egyptian protest culture Conclusion Note References 6 Resisting the World Cup in Brazil: when the global clashes with the urban Introduction Conclusion Notes References 7 The Euromaidan, democracy, and political values in Ukraine The Euromaidan democracy narratives and research questions Methodology and data The political systems before, during, and after the Euromaidan Democratic and authoritarian attitudes Conclusion Notes References Part III Exploring Gezi Park protests: different actors, different perspectives 8 Right to the city: insurgent citizens of the Occupy Gezi movement Introduction Understanding new global social movements in the light of active citizenship Right to the city: revolt of the masses Corrupt politics and loss of trust Conclusion Notes References 9 Placing Gezi Park in time Introduction Understanding large scale protests Gezi events in time: a participants’ perspective Conclusions Note References 10 Understanding Turkey through Gezi Park: the change in “world time” and revolt of a “multitude” against the Islamist government (AKP) Introduction Political Islamists as the “other” of Kemalism Symbolic importance of artillery barracks Outbreak of “Gezi Park” protests: “it is not only about two trees” Conclusion References 11 Reconceptualizing state–society relations in Turkey: a culture of contestation from Gezi and beyond Introduction History and truth: (re)imagining Turkish identity Urban resistance: from Woodstock to war-zone Conclusion: contentious politics in Gezi and beyond Notes References Index