Transnational Hacktivism

Question 1

Historical Background

Answer 1

NWICO (1975-1985): Media control resistance.

Velletri Agreement (1985-1995): Grassroots social justice.

Emergence of BBS, GNU/Linux.

Zapata to Wikileaks (1995-2005): Push for data transparency.

Question 2

Defining Hacktivism Today

Answer 2

Online activism, cyber-terrorism, hacktivism.
“Nonviolent use of illegal or legally ambiguous digital tools for political ends.”

Question 3

Hacktivism as a Transnational Social Movement Definitions

Answer 3

Social Movements: Episodic, collective claims affecting at least one government.

Transnational Social Movements: Sustained contentious interaction across at least two states.

Question 4

(Global) Framing

Answer 4

Narrative construction aligning opinions.
Use of external symbols to orient claims.
“Lulz” and “Propaganda by the deed.”

Question 5

Repertoires of Contention

Answer 5

Tools and actions available to a movement in a given timeframe.
Defacements, DDoS attacks, info theft & distribution.

Question 6

Mobilizing Structures

Answer 6

Resources sustaining social movements.
Supporting offline movements, hybrid online/offline, cloud protesting.

Question 7

Political Opportunity Structures

Answer 7

Exogenous factors limiting or empowering collective actors.
Factors in the political environment and technical possibilities.

Question 8

Conclusion

Answer 8

Hacktivism is non-violent, disruptive online collective action.

Rooted in hacker culture and free media diffusion movements.

Aligned with the framework of transnational social movements.

Made possible by framing, repertoires, mobilizing structures, and political opportunity structures.

Question 9

Objectives of the Article

Answer 9

Examining the decline of the Westphalian state.
Questions about cyclical decline, non-territorial governance, and the role of social movements.
Prediction failures indicate a shift to different institutions.

Question 10

Four Empirical Phenomena

Answer 10

Grassroots insurgencies framing claims globally.
International protest events against visible international organizations.
Transnational activist coalitions against national states.
Activism of International Nongovernmental Organizations (INGOs) within and around international institutions.

Question 11

Transnational Social Movement

Answer 11

Socially mobilized groups with constituents in at least two states.
Engaged in sustained contentious interaction with powerholders in at least one state other than their own or against international institutions.

Question 12

International Nongovernmental Organizations (INGOs)

Answer 12

Organizations operating independently of governments.
Composed of members from two or more countries.
Organized to advance international goals and provide services through routine transactions.

Question 13

Transnational Activist Networks (TANs)

Answer 13

Informal structures containing social movements and INGOs.
Facilitate interaction among NGO members, social movement activists, government officials, and international institution agents.

Question 14

Against the Global Civil Society Thesis

Answer 14

Globalization doesn’t directly create transnational activism.
International institutions create transnational reactions.
TANs formed from elites and social movements.
TANs influence domestic politics.
Long-term: Domestic movements become aware and form transnational social movements.

Question 15

Conclusions

Answer 15

International Institutions act as a “Coral Reef,” created by states but generating transnational social movements.
If the thesis is correct, TANs will emerge from international organizations and their transnational contestation.