Many Clicks but Little Sticks: Social Media Activism in Indonesia

Drawing on empirical cases from Indonesia, this article offers a critical approach to the promise of social media activism by analysing the complexity and dynamics of the relationship between social media and its users. Rather than viewing social media activism as the harbinger of social change or dismissing it as mere “slacktivism,” the article provides a more nuanced argument by identifying the conditions under which participation in social media might lead to successful political activism. In social media, networks are vast, content is overly abundant, attention spans are short, and conversations are parsed into diminutive sentences. For social media activism to be translated into populist political activism, it needs to embrace the principles of the contemporary culture of consumption: light package, headline appetite and trailer vision. Social media activism is more likely to successfully mobilise mass support when its narratives are simple, associated with low risk actions and congruent with dominant meta-narratives, such as nationalism and religiosity. Success is less likely when the narrative is contested by dominant competing narratives generated in mainstream media.     

Not in our name: collective identity of the Serbian Women in Black

The Belgrade-based activist group Women in Black has been for twenty years now articulating a feminist anti-war stance in an inimical socio-political climate. The operation of this anti-patriarchal and anti-militarist organization, which has resisted numerous instances of repression, has not been until now systematically approached from a social movement perspective. This paper draws upon a range of empirical methods, comprising life-story interviews, documentary analysis and participant observation, to address the question as to how it was possible for this small circle of activists to remain on the Serbian/post-Yugoslav civic scene for the last two decades. My central argument is that a consistent collective identity, which informs the group's resource mobilization and strategic options, holds the key to the surprising survival of this activist organization. I apply recent theoretical advances on collective identity to the case of the Belgrade Women in Black with the view of promoting a potentially fruitful cross-fertilization between non-Western activism and the Western conceptual apparatus for studying civic engagement.     

Academia and the Legitimising of International Politics: studies of democratisation and world politics

This article aims to highlight the connection between academic studies and international politics and to provide an academic justification of foreign policies with particular reference to the case of democratisation studies. It embodies a two-way relationship. On the one hand, the conjunctures of international politics influence the nature of academic studies in the discipline of Political Science; on the other hand, academic studies may sometimes be employed as sources of legitimisation of the foreign policies of states. The article discusses these connections, providing particular examples of academic studies of the democratisation process during the Cold War and the post-cold war era.     

Neville Bolt. The Violent Image: Insurgent Propaganda and the New Revolutionaries.

This article examines key setting events and personal factors that are associated with support for either non-violent activism or violent activism among Somali refugee young adults in the United States. Specifically, this article examines the associations of trauma, stress, symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), posttraumatic growth (PTG), strength of social bonds, and attitudes towards legal and non-violent vs. illegal and violent activism. Structured interviews were conducted with a sample of Somali refugee males ages 18–25 living in the northeastern United States (N = 79). Data were analyzed using multiple linear regressions and path analysis. Greater exposure to personal trauma was associated with greater openness to illegal and violent activism. PTSD symptoms mediated this association. Strong social bonds to both community and society moderated this association, with trauma being more strongly associated with openness to illegal and violent activism among those who reported weaker social bonds. Greater exposure to trauma, PTG, and stronger social bonds were all associated with greater openness to legal non-violent activism.     

"A Dime Store of Words": Liberty Magazine and the Cultural Logic of the Popular Press

Abstract

The essay posits the question of the end of May Fourth as a properly political sequence. If we consider May Fourth as a political movement, asking how it ends implies asking what kind of political subjects and political organizations were active then and ceased to be active at a certain point in time. Asking when and how the May Fourth movement ended implies, therefore, asking what ended. The essay analyzes a series of statements and actions signaling the “end” or the “defeat” of May Fourth in order to question whether there were collective practices, locations, and categories proper to the May Fourth period and how they got exhausted. Two elements appear to be crucial: the organizational structure of the xuehui and the category of “student.”     

‘Saving the Congo’: transnational social fields and politics of home in the Congolese diaspora

Abstract

This paper explores the diasporic ‘politics of home’ of Congolese migrants in Europe, in particular in the UK, and to a lesser extent in Belgium. We focus on the fragmentation and heterogeneity of the diasporic political sphere by examining the role of first generation activists, religious groups, as well as youth and women's organisations. Within the transnational political field, first generation leaders are in a dominant position and the involvement of other groups, such as women and young people is marginalised by their control of the diasporic ‘rules of the game’ in the Bourdieusan sense. However, the increasing involvement of Congolese women in the field of women's rights advocacy has opened up new paths of political action which can, in certain occasions, lead to transnational forms of engagement. Similarly, second generation Congolese activists are constructing a space of autonomous engagement, relying heavily on the Internet and especially on social media, some attempting to link up with wider social movements. The paper provides an understanding of the social and political construction of these different fields of diasporic engagement as well as their intersectional and dialogical relations.     

能动与重构：公私合作背景下行政诉讼制度路径抉择

在公私合作背景下,行政行为和行政法律关系趋向复杂化,传统的行政诉讼制度出现缺失。时下,司法能动主义在我国法院系统和法学理论界备受关注。为适应公私合作背景下纠纷问题解决的需要,我国的行政诉讼制度面临选择司法能动还是制度重构的抉择。结合中国法治实践,行政诉讼制度的重构,是比较符合中国现实国情的。     

论司法能动主义的基础

司法能动主义强调法官的能动性,认为法官可以超越成文法和先例的约束进行司法解释,以法官自己对宪法的理解来代替立法、行政机关的决定。司法能动主义有着深厚的理论与现实的基础,其法哲学基础是新原意主义,宪政基础是共和主义,而现实依据则包括法官自由裁量权、行政权的扩张、自治法向回应法的转变等。     

能动司法背景下的法律方法诉求

近年来,能动司法成为法学界的一个研究热点,本文通过探讨我国能动司法与美国司法能动主义的区别,阐述我国的能动司法不是简单的裁判理念,而是一种政治型能动政策。理想的司法能动是功能上的能动与方法上克制的统一,当前我国的能动司法属于政策推动性质,缺乏对能动的应有规范,而法律方法恰好能从有效性和正当性方面对司法活动予以必要的规制,因此也就成为当前我国能动司法的必然诉求。     

能动司法的宪法界限

当下中国的能动司法不同于西方的司法能动主义,其理论表达和实践形态呈现出多样性和复杂性。各地区、各层级人民法院的积极实践,使得能动司法遍地开花。但是,能动司法也应有必要的限度。我国现行宪法规定,＂中华人民共和国人民法院是国家的审判机关。＂这就要求能动司法在展开的同时,注意人民法院是国家的,而非地方的,以防出现司法地方化的问题;注意人民法院是专司审判职能的审判就关,而非履行其他职能的国家机关,以免能动司法变成了＂盲动司法＂。