Digital Citizenship and Political Engagement

This book considers the radical effects the emergence of social media and digital politics have had on the way that advocacy organisations mobilise and organise citizens into political participation. It argues that these changes are due not only to technological advancement but are also underpinned by hybrid media systems, new political narratives, and a new networked generation of political actors. The author empirically analyses the emergence and consolidation within advanced democracies of online campaigning organisations, such as MoveOn, 38 Degrees, Getup and AVAAZ. Vromen shows that they have become leading political advocates, and influential on both national and international level governance. The book critically engages with this digital disruption of traditional patterns of political mobilisation and organisation, and highlights the challenges in embracing new ideas such as entrepreneurialism and issue-driven politics. It will be of interest to advanced students and scholars in political participation and citizen politics, interest groups, civil society organisations, e-government and politics and social media.

• digital politics
• interest groups
• political engagement
• social movements
• Australian politics
• social media
• Facebook political use
• Twitter political use
• political mobilisation
• British politics
• US politics
• democracy

“Ariadne Vromen’s unique ten year study of GetUp is a terrific contribution to the field. This highly readable and multi-layered book penetrates critical questions about what makes the organisation and its campaigns tick, how they change over time, and what this means for citizen-based politics. Vromen’s insightful work reminds us why attention to context is important and comprehensive analysis indispensable.” (Alexandra Segerberg, Stockholm University, Sweden)

“This is a tremendous book. Ariadne Vromen draws upon a full decade of research and observation of the Australian netroots powerhouse GetUp. The expansive depth and breadth of her research reveals something that no other scholar has been able to chart: how digital advocacy organizations learn, adapt, and change as they outgrow their initial novelty and carve out a niche in the political landscape. The book is a must-read for anyone interested how the internet is changing organized collective action.” (David Karpf, George Washington University, USA)

“This is an important and highly timely book that provides a unique insight into how digital technologies are democratizing the world of political campaigning and interest articulation. Through a rich comparative analysis of the new ‘organizational hybrids’ - GetUp, MoveOn and 38 Degrees - Vromen offers a powerful argument to show how these groups are challenging the established order and returning power to the grassroots.” (Rachel Gibson, University of Manchester, UK)

• University of Sydney , Sydney, Australia

  Ariadne Vromen

Ariadne Vromen is Professor of Political Sociology at the University of Sydney, Australia. Her research interests include: political participation, social movements, advocacy organisations, digital politics, and young people and politics. She has completed extensive research on young people’s political engagement, including a comparative project on social media use in Australia, the UK and USA. She has also co-authored several texts on Australian politics, including Powerscape: Contemporary Australian Politics (2009).

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