The paradox of activism: Combining violent, popular and institutional approaches (Activism Paradox)

Abstract:

Theoretically it will develop concepts from political discourse theory and provide new explanatory concepts to better capture intra-network dynamics in extra-parliamentarian politics. Moreover, it addresses the largely neglected attention to the concepts of mediation and mediatization in political discourse theory.Empirically it will document activists’ understandings of the ways in which performative and mediated aspects of activism influence public opinion and policy making. It will shed light on two interrelated issues: (1) Intra-network disagreements over the importance ascribed to popular appeal, institutional impact and antagonistic enactment in the planning of counter-summits and (2) The role of these dynamics in shaping activists engagement with the media.It will also connect these findings to the project’s mentors’ work in order tostrengthen the project’s claims to knowledge in terms of generalizability. It will also contribute to discussions on participant observation in organisational research and to discussions on developing an ethics guide for CBS as none currently exists.