Accelerated pluralism is a theory coined by Bruce Bimber which claims that "the net is accelerating the process of issue
group formation and
action
Action may refer to:
* Action (narrative), a literary mode
* Action fiction, a type of genre fiction
* Action game, a genre of video game
Film
* Action film, a genre of film
* ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford
* ''Action'' (1980 fil ...
".
As a method of mobilization, it relies on
information communication technologies (ICT), particularly the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
as a tool to promote all kinds of ideological projects or to form
social movement
A social movement is a loosely organized effort by a large group of people to achieve a particular goal, typically a Social issue, social or political one. This may be to carry out a social change, or to resist or undo one. It is a type of Group ...
s.
Bimber based his theory on the idea that "the processes of group-oriented politics will show less coherence and less correspondence with established private and public institutional structures".
Concept
Accelerated pluralism operates within a landscape typified by an acceleration of the existing tendencies of liberal democratic politics towards a contest of groups, which coalesce according to narrowly defined interests. The theory views these groups as not interested in politics except for the issue they are concerned about. Due to information communication technologies, the incorporation of groups into the networked whole was made easier and simpler so that coordination and autonomy are enhanced while access to sources of information is facilitated.
These lead to the creation of new forms of direct action. It also result to a fragmented and more fluid system with diminished institutional coherence. The concept is related to other representational models such as
Michael Schudson
Michael S. Schudson
Michael S. Schudson (born November 3, 1946) is professor of journalism in the graduate school of journalism of Columbia University and adjunct professor in the department of sociology. He is professor emeritus at the Univers ...
's "monitorial citizen" and
Stephen Coleman's direct representational model.
As a method of group formation, accelerated pluralism is unique because through the use of the Internet people are able to congregate in
virtual public sphere and decide which form of action to take.
According to the Center for Democracy and Technology's
Daniel Weitzner
Professor Daniel J. Weitzner is the director of the MIT Internet Policy Research Initiative and principal research scientist at the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab CSAIL. He teaches Internet public policy in MIT's Computer Scien ...
, the Internet facilitates a “one-to-one interaction…between citizens and government” something that is missing in today's politics.
Accelerated pluralism played a major role in the mobilization efforts of the
Arab Spring
The Arab Spring ( ar, الربيع العربي) was a series of anti-government protests, uprisings and armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in Tunisia in response to corruption and econom ...
,
Occupy and
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police brutali ...
social movements by allowing the participants to congregate cheaply and quickly. ICTs in combination with accelerated pluralism played a major role in the "ignition of social protest, the cascade of inspiring images and stories"
in social movements.
Bimber, however, noted that accelerated pluralism may not always lead to positive development since it could drive radical dissent.
See also
*
Internet activism
Internet activism is the use of electronic communication technologies such as social media, e-mail, and podcasts for various forms of activism to enable faster and more effective communication by citizen movements, the delivery of particular info ...
*
Online social movement Online social movements are organised efforts to push for a particular goal through the use of new communications and information technologies, such as the Internet. In many cases, these movements seek to counter the mainstream public, claiming ther ...
*
Hybrid warfare
Hybrid warfare is a theory of military strategy, first proposed by Frank Hoffman, which employs political warfare and blends conventional warfare, irregular warfare, and cyberwarfare
with other influencing methods, such as fake news, diplomacy, l ...
References
{{reflist
Social movements
Social change
Internet activism