Movement Leadership and Messaging Platforms in Preemptive Repressive Settings: Telegram and the Navalny Movement in Russia
People who lead anti-authoritarian digitally enabled movements face a leadership visibility dilemma—a necessity to balance security with publicity while mobilizing followers. The article asks how the reliance on instant messaging platforms (IMPs) to coordinate protest internally shapes the response...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SAGE Publishing
2022-09-01
|
| Series: | Social Media + Society |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051221123038 |
| _version_ | 1797962144477609984 |
|---|---|
| author | Aliaksandr Herasimenka |
| author_facet | Aliaksandr Herasimenka |
| author_sort | Aliaksandr Herasimenka |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | People who lead anti-authoritarian digitally enabled movements face a leadership visibility dilemma—a necessity to balance security with publicity while mobilizing followers. The article asks how the reliance on instant messaging platforms (IMPs) to coordinate protest internally shapes the response to this dilemma revealed through internal movement organizing analysis. Our case study is social media protest mobilization by Alexei Navalny’s movement in Russia in 2017. We rely on semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis of communication on Telegram during this mobilization. We offer a theory of leadership in an IMP-organized anti-authoritarian movement. It suggests that the use of messaging platforms during social media protest mobilization enhances capacities for visibility management and polycentricity in such movements. It also fosters the emergence of a specific type of protest movement leader—or shadow anti-authoritarian leadership—that is collective, polycentric, and concealed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T01:09:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7b1d7eaba64b4b45a3692a733c58c21f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2056-3051 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T01:09:47Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Social Media + Society |
| spelling | doaj.art-7b1d7eaba64b4b45a3692a733c58c21f2023-01-04T08:33:18ZengSAGE PublishingSocial Media + Society2056-30512022-09-01810.1177/20563051221123038Movement Leadership and Messaging Platforms in Preemptive Repressive Settings: Telegram and the Navalny Movement in RussiaAliaksandr Herasimenka0University of Oxford, UKPeople who lead anti-authoritarian digitally enabled movements face a leadership visibility dilemma—a necessity to balance security with publicity while mobilizing followers. The article asks how the reliance on instant messaging platforms (IMPs) to coordinate protest internally shapes the response to this dilemma revealed through internal movement organizing analysis. Our case study is social media protest mobilization by Alexei Navalny’s movement in Russia in 2017. We rely on semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis of communication on Telegram during this mobilization. We offer a theory of leadership in an IMP-organized anti-authoritarian movement. It suggests that the use of messaging platforms during social media protest mobilization enhances capacities for visibility management and polycentricity in such movements. It also fosters the emergence of a specific type of protest movement leader—or shadow anti-authoritarian leadership—that is collective, polycentric, and concealed.https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051221123038 |
| spellingShingle | Aliaksandr Herasimenka Movement Leadership and Messaging Platforms in Preemptive Repressive Settings: Telegram and the Navalny Movement in Russia Social Media + Society |
| title | Movement Leadership and Messaging Platforms in Preemptive Repressive Settings: Telegram and the Navalny Movement in Russia |
| title_full | Movement Leadership and Messaging Platforms in Preemptive Repressive Settings: Telegram and the Navalny Movement in Russia |
| title_fullStr | Movement Leadership and Messaging Platforms in Preemptive Repressive Settings: Telegram and the Navalny Movement in Russia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Movement Leadership and Messaging Platforms in Preemptive Repressive Settings: Telegram and the Navalny Movement in Russia |
| title_short | Movement Leadership and Messaging Platforms in Preemptive Repressive Settings: Telegram and the Navalny Movement in Russia |
| title_sort | movement leadership and messaging platforms in preemptive repressive settings telegram and the navalny movement in russia |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051221123038 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT aliaksandrherasimenka movementleadershipandmessagingplatformsinpreemptiverepressivesettingstelegramandthenavalnymovementinrussia |