#segerberg

Bennett Lance and Segerberg Alexandra in The Logic of Connective Action analyze the changes in organizational dynamics of social movements led by the increase of social media use. Bennett and Segerberg differentiate between collective and connective actions based on the different degrees of digitally mediated action performed by the movements. In general, collective action relies on high levels of organizational resources, strong ties and the formation of collective identities while connective action relies on media networked relationships. Additionally, the two authors identify a sub-division within the branch of connective action based on the degree of organization and coordination of actions. According to them, there are three ideal types of large-scale action networks: 

Collective action (strong organizational coordination of action): Social media used to coordinate the participants and the goals, but also build interpersonal relationships between the members in collective action frames. Typically, it needs more effort, resources and pressure from the members because it requires change in people’s lifestyles. 

Connective action (little or no organizational coordination of action): Social media used to share members’ opinion and organize. The message is spread with emergent inclusive personal action frames (tailored for a certain ideology). It is tipical of the organizations which are losing their grip on members and based on fluid relationships. 

Connective action (loose organizational coordination of action): Hybrid between the first two. 

Analyzed through the lenses of Bennett and Segerberg's work, the social movement of the yellow vests, started in October 2018 in Paris, would identify with the connective action with loose organizational coordination. This is because, the movement, which fights the rise in fuel taxes, is in the middle between the two extremes of collective and connective action. Thus, the yellow vests movement does not heavily on social media to organize the action but it makes a certain use of it i.e. the hashtag #traversonslarue. Moreover, the members of the movement share a common goal and pursue specific actions - such as the Saturday street protests - to achieve it. However, they do not radically change lifestyle. It may be argued that, since the movement started, some things changed in yellow vests protesters’ lives. For instance, members have been wearing the yellow vests to go out and they increased their social media use. Although, these are not real lifestyle changes compared to becoming a vegetarian or to walking instead of driving. In addition, it may be argued that the yellow vests movement frames its message. Indeed, as shown in the poster A below, the yellow vests sometimes recall the communist symbols to create a common proletarian identity within the members and attract a certain targeted group. Despite this political exclusivity, they are being inclusive since they depict different genders and ages. In addition, they use very bold colors to recall the color of the vests and to emphasize the aggressiveness of their message. Lastly, they employ the slogan “Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité” to build on the feelings of resistance of the French Revolution. 

(A) Mediapart (2018)

“We are going to look for Manu (Macron), let’s cross the street” 

“The yellow vests are in Paris”

White strip: “Who is looking for me?”

Black signs: “Freedom, Equality, Fraternity” 

W. Lance Bennet and Alexander Segerberg describe two logics within different societal actions, one being the logistics behind collective action. Bennet and Segerberg describe the logic of collective action as a quality within a movement that contains specific aspects to it. These aspects involve networks within the movement that keep it strong and unified, a coordination of action within the movement that is organized, and interpersonal relationships within the movement. The authors then go on to describe the negatives aspects that come alongside this societal logic. One of the most major and influential negative aspects that the logic of collective action contains, is that people assume that just because they fall under the name branch of a societal identity, that they will be able to work together successfully to reach their goal. The researchers explains that “in large groups in which individual contributions are less noticeable, rational individuals will free-ride on the efforts of others: it is more cost-efficient not to contribute if you can enjoy the good without contributing”. In other words, when a large societal movement is occurring, people tend to not make drastic and potentially life threatening contributions to the movement when they see other people in their societal group doing those actions and in response they are having negative effects. People that are apart of a large societal movement would rather ride on the backs of other people rather than stick their neck out and contribute to the progress of the movement.

As you try and connect Bennet and Segerberg’s logic of collective action to the Women 2 Drive movement, there is no evidence that this logic can be seen through this movement. June 24th, 2018 was the start of the first day that Saudi women were able to legally drive in Saudi Arabia, because of the successful action of the movement. The overarching goal of the movement was to have the ban lifted on the ability for Saudi Arabian women to drive in the country. The success of the movement is linked to the ban being lifted because of the efforts made by these women mainly involving videos and pictures being posted on social media of them driving and continuous arrests that did not stop the activists from protesting. It is a major success that this goal was able to be attained by the movement, though that does not mean that the process to get there was easy, or that just because the movement had reached their goal that the activists are not still hurting within their own lives. Almost all of the female Saudi activists have been arrested for participating in the movement by driving in Saudi Arabia again the law, in an effort to lift the driving ban. If they hare not been arrested, the activists had have other legal negative implications placed on them by the Saudi government if they had actively participated in the movement. Even though that ban has been lifted, female Saudi activists are still imprisoned today. These activists had seen women just like them being arrested for posting pictures or videos of them driving, though many Saudi women still continued to do that exact same thing because all Saudi people participating in the movement were so determined to have the driving ban lifted. ]