Abstract

This paper attempts to explore the role of the internet in the processes of organization and mobilization of the ‘movement for alternative globalization’, which is often characterized as an ‘internet-based movement’. It reports the findings of a survey undertaken in the Paris 2003 European Social Forum (ESF), which asked 257 respondents about the contexts that mobilized them to participate in the ESF (political/voluntary organizations, friends/relatives, workplace/university, news media), as well as the modes and methods of communication that were used in each context. The findings question the claims about the internet-based character of this movement, as face-to-face contact seems to be the predominant mode of communication. The survey also challenges the much discussed potential of the internet to mobilize politically indifferent or marginalized individuals, as a comparison between users and non-users of the internet revealed that users tended to be mobilized for the ESF through political or voluntary organizations.

Keywords: European Social Forum, movement for alternative globalization, mobilization, survey, internet, Social movements

How to Cite:

Kavada, A., (2017) “Exploring the role of the internet in the ‘movement for alternative globalization’: The case of the Paris 2003 European Social Forum”, Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture 2(1), 72-95. doi: https://doi.org/10.16997/wpcc.9