Collective Action Theory and Nonviolent Social Movements

One of my main drivers for taking this course is to learn how to effectively analyze social networks in nonviolent movements. I am particularly interested in how leadership and authority emerge from these networks. Who are the catalyzers? What are the issues? How are people organizing themselves in transnational social movements and mobilizing other communities both online and on the ground? And even more importantly, how are we re-defining community with the advent of social media?

“Collective Action Theory Meets the Blogosphere” addresses cyber-collective action and social networks. One particular online campaign it analyzes is the Al-Huwaider Campaign. A Saudi female writer and journalist Waheja Al-Huwaider posted a YouTube video that quickly went viral, of her driving around the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by herself, which is forbidden. Her actions, combined with her online writings, have been inspirational for other collective action movements promoting women’s rights in the Middle East. The paper does an issue analysis of Al-Huwaider’s writings on other blogs, and how they were transmitted across national borders to influence the issue discussion.

While the paper falls short of providing more concrete examples of what types of collective action Al-Huwaider’s writings and online campaign actually influenced on the ground, it offers an important perspective in mapping the interactions and influence of issue-based discussions and the rapidly emerging field of how people are exercising leadership and authority in the blogosphere.