Information Networks and Collective Action: Evidence from the Women’s Temperance Crusade

How do social interactions shape collective action, and how are they mediated by networked information technologies? We answer these questions studying the Temperance Crusade, a wave of anti-liquor protest activity spreading across 29 states between 1873 and 1874. Relying on exogenous variation in network links generated by railroad accidents, we provide causal evidence of social interactions driving the diffusion of the movement, mediated by rail and telegraph information about neighboring activity. Local newspaper coverage of the crusade was a key channel mediating these effects. Using an event-study methodology, we find strong complementarities between rail and telegraph networks in driving the movement’s spread. (JEL D83, J16, L92, L96, N31, N41, N71)

Passion for Putin’s Palace: Political Protests in Modern Russia

In this article, the author analyzes the protest activity in Russia in January–February 2021. Protest activity came to Russia after A. Navalny’s investigation of V. Putin’s palace in Gelendzhik. Like the Belarusian protests in August 2021, the Russian protests were suppressed by the police. A feature of the Russian protests was their mass character. A large number of cities in almost all Russian regions were involved in the protest. Based on the data of secondary analysis, the author tries to give his own research of the Russian protest activity in January–February 2021. Protest activity in a number of Russian regions did not look accidental. One could observe protest activity in them before, but with a different agenda. The factor of unpopular government is of great importance in regional protests. The authorities no longer have the proper stock of legitimacy. This fully applies to the governors appointed by V. Putin, and, often, not directly related to the regions that have their own specificity. Case studies of protests in Russian regions show new trends. The protests are increasingly carnival-like. Power is ridiculed and discussed with irony. Familiar dialogue with the authorities is confirmed in various forms and languages of protest. From the author’s point of view, protest activity in Russia will increase by the fall of 2021. In September 2021, elections to the Russian Parliament are to be held. The author assumes that disappointment with the authorities in Russia will grow. The social base of new protests can be broader.

Activity of Opposition Telegram Channels and Behavioral Factor of Google Users as a Research Method for Analyzing the Protests in Belarus in 2020

The protests in the Republic of Belarus in August-November 2020 have been studied in article on the basis of data from Telegram Analytics and Google Trends, based on structural and functional analysis and a network approach, have been studied. A method of determining the cycles of protest activity is proposed, according to which Belarusian events can be divided into weekly periods. Specified protests are denoted as a network revolution - a state coup technology based on the concept of isolating the pillars of support for the political regime - he consistent paralysis of the states protection and management bodies, as well as the use of Internet resources for the mobilization, communication and coordination of protesters. The organizers of the network revolution have planned two options for the development of the state coup. The first one is the creation of a permanent hotbed of protests in the center of the capital and the gradual isolation of the pillars of support of the regime. The second one is holding a series of decentralized actions followed by consolidation and formation of a permanent hotbed of protests in the center of the capital and major cities. The experience of the events in Belarus showed that if the pillars of support for the regime are maintained, namely the bodies of state management and the institutions of internal protection of the Interior Ministry, the KGB, protests subside on the second week of protests.

Social Media Users Behavior before the Mass Street Protests in Russia in January and April 2021

The purpose of this work is to identify the specifics of the online audience behavior before major street actions in Russia: how users react to current events, what is the focus of their attention, which authors, publics and publications are gaining popularity. The research was held on 7 social media platforms and based on content analysis including both a quantitative and a qualitative methodology. A certain similarity was revealed in the behavior of users of different platforms within the same period: they were interested in the same news and the positions of the same personalities. In addition, Twitter and social media users showed an increased interest in each other's reactions to the events that concerned them. The «climate of opinions» investigation held by social media users was especially obvious before the rally, announced suddenly. The research also revealed similarities in media consumption, interest in the same opinion leaders and a similar level of politicization before rallies among users of 5 platforms. These social media form a unified segment of the public sphere. The research data suggest that the platforms where «the climate of opinions» leans in favor of the protest agenda are more likely to influence protest activity. At the same time, direct calls to take to the streets seem to have an insignificant impact on protest behavior.

The Political Opportunity Structure and the Evolution of the Organizational Base of Peasants’ and Farmers’ Protest Activity in Poland in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries

The main research question of this article is as follows: What was the impact on the protest potential of peasants and farmers in the analyzed periods of the relations between the structure of political opportunity and the way these social groups were organized? In the author’s opinion, the impact was indirect, although it remodelled the organizational aspects of how the peasant and farmer movement functioned: from organizations in the form of political parties, through trade unions in the period of state socialism, up to producers’ organizations in contemporary Poland. It must be added, however, that the key factor responsible for these changes in the organizational background of the peasantry was changes within those social groups themselves: firstly, the empowerment of the peasantry in the inter-war period, the professionalization of farmers during state socialism, and the marketization of their activity after 1989.

Protest potential and protest activity of modern Russian youth: value dominants, dynamics and trends

This study analyzed the phenomenon of youth protest activity in modern Russia. The purpose of the work is to identify the specifics of the formation and development of the phenomenon of youth protest in the Russian Federation. Currently, there is an increase in social tension among young people, which is due to a large number of phenomena and factors. By analyzing the cases of protest activity in the Russian Federation over the past 10 years, their causes, mechanisms of organization, actors, stages, resources, and results have been identified in the dynamics. Based on the analysis of the results of sociological studies of protest activity of modern Russian youth and cases of protest activity, the article analyzes value orientations, dynamics and trends in the development of this phenomenon, presents concepts containing an analysis of the specifics of social protest, considers factors associated with the strengthening of various effects of the influence of digital communications on the political interaction of citizens and processes associated with the complexity of the nature and structure of political communication. Two structural levels of the system of social factors of protest behavior are identified: individual protest behavior and protest social movement, the most significant factors of protest social activity of young people are characterized. Based on the analysis of the results of a number of sociological studies devoted to the study of the role of digital communications on the protest social activity of Russian youth, it is concluded that the influence of digital networks on the political activity of citizens is increasing, while at present there is not a decrease in the civic activity of young people, but a change in the models of their participation in political events.

Social Protest in Russian America

This article analyzes social protest in the Russian colonies in Alaska and Northern California. The main reasons for protests were the actions of the colonial administration or abuse by its representatives, along with dissatisfaction with the financial situation, rules, conditions, and remuneration for labor, as well as shortages of commodities and food for a considerable part of the population of the Russian colonies. Protest activity in Russian America was relatively insignificant, and its primary forms were complaints, minor economic sabotage, and desertion. Most protest acts took place during the 1790s–1800s, when the colonial system was formed, and exploitation of dependent natives and Russian promyshlenniki (hired hunters of fur-bearing animals) reached its peak. The representatives of the Russian-American Company who managed Alaska from 1799 on tried to block protest activity and not allow open displays of dissatisfaction, since the result could hinder trade, business, and finally, profits and its image in the eyes of the tsar’s authorities.

Method for monitoring and diagnosing local incidents with the potential for protest mobilization.

The article presents a methodology for monitoring and diagnosing local incidents with the potential for protest activity, which consists of four main steps and five related modules. The method differs from its analogues in that it takes into account the textual features of the network strategies of communication participants, hierarchical relationships between information objects, and attributes of audience activity in social networks. At the same time, the technique provides diagnostics of a local incident and detection of the beginning of its artificial mediatization. The article also demonstrates the results of experimental studies.

On prevention of youth protest activity

Researched is the problem of prevention of protest activity of Russian youth. The years 2020–-2021 in Russia were marked by an increase in youth protest activity. Young people have moved from passive civic participation to active protest actions. The purpose of the study is to study the possibilities for youth to implement constructive forms of civic engagement and identify ways to prevent youth protest activity. To conduct the research, the following methods were used: a questionnaire survey of Russian youth aged 14 to 35, inclusive, 2) analysis of official documents regulating work with youth. As a result of a survey of young people, a high level of protest activity of Russian youth over the past 3 years and a high protest potential were revealed. The analysis of official documents revealed various possibilities for the implementation of constructive forms of civic engagement by young people. In general, the analysis of public documents of the state authorities of the Russian Federation and the constituent entities of the Russian Federation organizing work with youth indicates the expansion of constructive practices of youth participation in the implementation of youth policy, the activities of local communities and the range of opportunities for self-realization, which is an essential factor in the prevention of youth protest activity.

Political Communications in Network Electoral Clusters: cyber technologies in the formation of a network party brand

The article represents the results of the analysis of network electoral clusters as a phenomenon of cyber parties and political technologies in the electronic media environment in the context of the problem of consolidating political power. Pointing to the modern specifics of the electoral processes and institutions of modern Russia, the author justifies the movement of protest activity and manipulation by the electorate into the electronic space. Based on the review of the relevant publications, the author concludes that the analysis of network electoral clusters, as well as technologies for political mobilization on the Internet, represents an important source and a problematic field for political scientists working on the problem of consolidating political power. For a democratic solution to the problem, it is necessary to timely identify and take into account protest activity in the electronic media environment, monitor and prevent the spread of potentially dangerous content using the technical and communicative resources of social networks. At the same time, the solution of the problem is not limited to countermeasures in the Internet space, the introduction of censorship, etc. It lies in the plane of improving the interaction of society and power, the electoral legislation, the party system and the personal political competence of citizens, their ability to assess the reliability of information, determine their political preferences, focusing not only on the political image of parties (party brand), but also the real content of their activities and programs.