Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Castells, Manuel (2012). Networks of outrage and hope - social movements in the Internet age.

2013; Oxford University Press; Volume: 25; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1093/ijpor/edt020

1471-6909

Noëlle Aarts,

Social Media and Politics

This book attempts to shed light on social movements in the network society, on their formation, their dynamics, their values, and their prospects for social transformation. The aim of Manuel Castells is to identify and understand new paths of social change in our time and to stimulate a debate on the practical and ultimately political implications about it. Grounded on observation, some hypotheses about the nature and perspectives of networked social movements are gradually developed (p. 4). Recent efforts to realize change of different social movements are analyzed, based on the grounded theory of power that Castells presented in his former book, titled Communication Power (2009). According to Castells, power relationships are constitutive of society because those who have power construct institutions of society according to their values and interests. Wherever there is power, Castells argues, there is also counterpower. The actual configuration of the state and other institutions that regulate people's lives depends on this constant interaction between power and counterpower. Power may be exercised by means of coercion, but more commonly and effectively by the construction of meanings in people's minds, through different mechanisms of symbolic manipulation. Communication is the process of sharing meaning through the exchange and negotiation of information. Therefore the availability of communication technologies, and especially social media and the Internet, is of utmost importance in processes of empowerment. Throughout the book, Castells does not leave any opportunity unused to emphasize that the Internet has been decisive for actual efforts to realize change, as used by the social movements studied.