New article in the Journal of Information Technology and Politics

UoP journalism lecturer James Dennis has published an article in the Journal of Information Technology and Politics. This paper examines how the UK political organization Momentum uses social media within its campaigning.

Title
A party within a party posing as a movement? Momentum as a movement faction

Abstract
This article examines how the UK political organization Momentum uses social media within its campaigning. Drawing on a mixed-method research design, combining interviews with activists in Portsmouth and discourse analysis of content posted on Facebook and Twitter, this article tests whether the leadership provides meaningful influence for members. At the national level, there is little evidence of Momentum fulfilling its “people-powered” vision. Instead, supporters are instructed to undertake tasks at the direction of the leadership. However, this is not a straightforward case of controlled interactivity. The local group in Portsmouth is semi-autonomous, providing member-driven advocacy that is coordinated through a Facebook Group. By using social media to underpin different organizational norms and campaigning tactics at different spatial levels, Momentum represents a “movement faction”.

Keywords
Activism, campaigning, engagement, Labour Party, Momentum, political parties, social movements, social media

Access the full article here: https://doi.org/10.1080/19331681.2019.1702608