Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to makechanges in society toward a perceivedcommon good. Forms of activism range frommandate building in a community (including writing letters to newspapers), petitioningelected officials, running or contributing to a political campaign, preferentialpatronage (orboycott) of businesses, and demonstrative forms of activism like rallies, street marches,strikes,sit-ins, orhunger strikes.
Activism may be performed on a day-to-day basis in a wide variety of ways, including through the creation of art (artivism), computer hacking (hacktivism), or simply in how one chooses to spend their money (economic activism). For example, the refusal to buy clothes or other merchandise from a company as a protest against theexploitation of workers by that company could be considered an expression of activism. However, the term commonly refers to a form ofcollective action, in which numerous individuals coordinate an act of protest together.[1] Collective action that is purposeful, organized, and sustained over a period of time becomes known as asocial movement.[2]
Historically, activists have used literature, includingpamphlets, tracts, and books to disseminate or propagate their messages and attempt to persuade their readers of thejustice of their cause. Research has now begun to explore how contemporary activist groups use social media to facilitatecivic engagement and collective action combiningpolitics with technology.[3][4]Left-wing andright-wing online activists often use different tactics.Hashtag activism and offline protest are more common on the left. Working strategically with partisan media, migrating toalternative platforms, and manipulation ofmainstream media are more common on the right (in the United States).[5] In addition, the perception of increased left-wing activism in science and academia may decrease conservativetrust in science and motivate some forms of conservative activism, including on college campuses.[6] Some scholars have also shown how theinfluence of very wealthy Americans is a form of activism.[7][8]
Separating activism andterrorism can be difficult and has been described as a 'fine line'.[9]
TheOnline Etymology Dictionary records the English words "activism" and "activist" as in use in the political sense from the year 1920[10] or 1915[11] respectively. The history of the wordactivism traces back to earlier understandings ofcollective behavior[12][13][14] andsocial action.[15] As late as 1969activism was defined as "the policy or practice of doing things with decision and energy", without regard to a political signification, whereassocial action was defined as "organized action taken by a group to improve social conditions", without regard to normative status. Following the surge of "new social movements" in the United States during the 1960s, activism came to be understood as a rational and legitimate democratic form of protest or appeal.[16][17][18]
However, the history of the existence ofrevolt through organized or unified protest in recorded history dates back to theslave revolts of the 1st century BC(E) in theRoman Empire, where under the leadership of former gladiatorSpartacus 6,000 slaves rebelled and were crucified from Capua toRome in what became known as theThird Servile War.[19]
In English history, thePeasants' Revolt erupted in response to the imposition of apoll tax,[20] and has been paralleled by other rebellions and revolutions in Hungary, Russia, and more recently, for example,Hong Kong. In 1930 under the leadership ofMahatma Gandhi thousands of protesting Indians participated in theSalt March,[21] as a protest against the oppressive taxes of their government, resulting in the imprisonment of 60,000 people and eventually independence of their nation. In nations throughout Asia, Africa and South America, the prominence of activism organized bysocial movements and especially under the leadership ofcivil activists orsocial revolutionaries has pushed for increasing national self-reliance or, in some parts of the developing world, collectivist communist or socialist organization and affiliation.[22] Activism has had major impacts on Western societies as well, particularly over the past century through social movements such as theLabour movement, thewomen's rights movement, and thecivil rights movement.[23]
Activism has often been thought to address eitherhuman rights orenvironmental concerns, butlibertarian andreligious right activism are also important types.[24] Human rights and environmental issues have historically been treated separately both within international law and as activist movements;[25] prior to the 21st century, most human rights movements did not explicitly treat environmental issues, and likewise, human rights concerns were not typically integrated into early environmental activism.[26] In the 21st century, the intersection between human rights and environmentalism has become increasingly important, leading to criticism of the mainstream environmentalist movement[27] and the development of theenvironmental justice andclimate justice movements.
Activism is increasingly important on the political right in the United States and other countries, and some scholars have found: "the main split in conservatism has not been the long-standing one between economic and social conservatives detected in previous surveys (i.e., approximately theLibertarian right and theChristian right). Instead, it is between an emergent group (Activists) that fusesboth ideologies and a less ideological category of 'somewhat conservative' Establishment Republicans."[24] One example of this activism is theTea Party movement.[24]
Pew Research identified a "group of 'Staunch Conservatives' (11 percent of the electorate) who are strongly religious, across-the-board socially and economically conservative, and more politically active than other groups on the Right. They support theTea Party at 72 percent, far higher than the next most favorable group."[24] One analysis found a group estimated to be 4% of the electorate who identified both as libertarians and staunch religiousconservatives "to be the core of this group of high-engagement voters" and labeled this group "Activists."[24]
The longest runningpeace vigil in U.S. history, started by activistThomas in 1981
Activists employ many different methods, or tactics, in pursuit of their goals.[2] The tactics chosen are significant because they can determine how activists are perceived and what they are capable of accomplishing. For example, nonviolent tactics generally tend to garner more public sympathy than violent ones.[30] and are more than twice as effective in achieving stated goals.[31]
Historically, most activism has focused on creating substantive changes in the policy or practice of a government or industry. Some activists try to persuade people to change their behavior directly (see alsodirect action), rather than to persuade governments to change laws.[32] For example, thecooperative movement seeks to build new institutions which conform to cooperative principles, and generally does not lobby or protest politically. Other activists try to persuade people or government policy to remain the same, in an effort tocounter change.
Charles Tilly developed the concept of a "repertoire of contention", which describes the full range of tactics available to activists at a given time and place.[33] This repertoire consists of all of the tactics which have been proven to be successful by activists in the past, such as boycotts, petitions, marches, and sit-ins, and can be drawn upon by any new activists and social movements. Activists may also innovate new tactics of protest. These may be entirely novel, such as Douglas Schuler's idea of an "activist road trip",[34][35] or may occur in response to policeoppression orcountermovement resistance.[36] New tactics then spread to others through a social process known asdiffusion, and if successful, may become new additions to the activist repertoire.[37]
Activism is not an activity always performed by those who profess activism as a profession.[38] The term "activist" may apply broadly to anyone who engages in activism, or narrowly limited to those who choose political or social activism as a vocation or characteristic practice.
Helena Alviar Garcia has combined activism with her work as a legal scholar, resulting in academia being seen as activism.[39]
Judges may employjudicial activism to promote their own conception of the social good. The definition of judicial activism and whether a specific decisions is activist are controversial political issues.[40] The legal systems of different nations vary in the extent that judicial activism may be permitted.
Political activism does not depend on a specific ideology or national history, as can be seen, for example, in the importance of conservative British women in the 1920s on issues of tariffs.[42]
Political activism, although often identified with young adults, occurs across peoples entire life-courses.[43]
Political activism on college campuses has been influential in left-wing politics since the 1960s, and recently there has been "a rise in conservative activism on US college campuses" and "it is common for conservative political organizations to donate money to relatively small conservative students groups".[6]
While people's motivations for political activism may vary, one model examined activism in the British Conservative party and found three primary motivations: (1) "incentives, such as ambitions for elective office", (2) "a desire for the party to achieve policy goals" and (3) "expressive concerns, as measured by the strength of the respondent's partisanship".[44]
In addition, very wealthy Americans can exercise political activism through massive financial support of political causes, and one study of the 400 richest Americans found "substantial evidence of liberal or right-wing activism that went beyond making contributions to political candidates."[7] This study also found, in general, "old money is, if anything, more uniformly conservative than new money."[7] Another study examined how "activism of the wealthy" has often increased inequality but is now sometimes used to decreaseeconomic inequality.[8]
The power ofInternet activism came into a global lens with theArab Spring protests starting in late 2010. People living in the Middle East and North African countries that were experiencing revolutions used social networking to communicate information about protests, including videos recorded on smart phones, which put the issues in front of an international audience.[45] This was one of the first occasions in which social networking technology was used by citizen-activists to circumvent state-controlled media and communicate directly with the rest of the world. These types of practices of Internet activism were later picked up and used by other activists in subsequent mass mobilizations, such as the15-M Movement in Spain in 2011,Occupy Gezi in Turkey in 2013, and more.[46]
Online "left- and right-wing activists use digital and legacy media differently to achieve political goals".[5] Left-wing online activists are usually more involved in traditional "hashtag activism" and offline protest, while right-wing activists may "manipulate legacy media, migrate to alternative platforms, and work strategically with partisan media to spread their messages".[5] Research suggests right-wing online activists are more likely to use "strategic disinformation and conspiracy theories".[5]
Internet activism may also refer to activism which focuses on protecting or changing the Internet itself, also known asdigital rights. The Digital Rights movement[47] consists of activists and organizations, such as theElectronic Frontier Foundation, who work to protect the rights of people in relation to new technologies, particularly concerning the Internet and otherinformation and communications technologies.
Many contemporary activists now utilize new tactics through the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICTs), also known asInternet activism or cyber-activism. Some scholars argue that many of these new tactics are digitally analogous to the traditional offline tools of contention.[48] Other digital tactics may be entire new and unique, such as certain types ofhacktivism.[33][49] Together they form a new "digital repertoire of contention" alongside the existing offline one.[50] The rising use of digital tools and platforms by activists[51] has also increasingly led to the creation of decentralized networks of activists that are self-organized[52][53][54] andleaderless,[46][55] or what is known asfranchise activism.
Economic activism involves using the economic power of government, consumers, and businesses for social and economic policy change.[56] Both conservative and liberal groups use economic activism as a form of pressure to influence companies and organizations to oppose or support particular political, religious, or social values and behaviors.[57] This may be done throughethical consumerism to reinforce "good" behavior and support companies one would like to succeed, or through boycott ordivestment to penalize "bad" behavior and pressure companies to change or go out of business.
Brand activism[58] is the type of activism in which business plays a leading role in the processes ofsocial change. Applying brand activism, businesses show concern for the communities they serve, and their economic, social, and environmental problems, which allows businesses to build sustainable and long-term relationships with the customers and prospects.Kotler and Sarkar defined the phenomenon as an attempt by firms to solve the global problems its future customers and employees care about.[59]
Design activism locates design at the center of promoting social change, raising awareness on social/political issues, or questioning problems associated with mass production andconsumerism. Design Activism is not limited to one type of design.[62][63]
Art activism orartivism utilizes the medium of visual art as a method of social or political commentary. Art activism can activateutopian thinking, which is imagining about an ideal society that is different from the current society, which is found to be effective for increasing collective action intentions.
Fashion activism was coined by Celine Semaan.[64] Fashion activism is a type of activism that ignites awareness by giving consumers tools to support change, specifically in the fashion industry.[65][66] It has been used as an umbrella term for many social and political movements that have taken place in the industry.[67] Fashion Activism uses a participatory approach to a political activity.[68]
Craft activism orcraftivism is a type of visual activism that allows people to bring awareness to political or social discourse.[69] It is a creative approach to activism as it allows people to send short and clear messages to society.[70] People who contribute to craftivism are called "craftivists".[71]
Activism in literature may publish written works that express intended or advocated reforms. Alternatively,literary activism may also seek to reform perceived corruption or entrenched systems of power within the publishing industry.
Science activism may include efforts to bettercommunicate the benefits of science or ensure continued funding for scientific research.[72][73] It may also include efforts to increase perceived legitimacy of particular scientific fields or respond to the politicization of particular fields.[74] TheMarch for Science held around the world in 2017 and 2018 were notable examples of science activism. Approaches to science activism vary from protests to more psychological, marketing-oriented approaches that takes into account such factors as individual sense of self, aversion to solutions to problems, and social perceptions.[75]
Some groups and organizations participate in activism to such an extent that it can be considered as an industry. In these cases, activism is often done full-time, as part of an organization'score business. Many organizations in the activism industry are eithernon-profit organizations or non-governmental organizations with specific aims and objectives in mind. Most activist organizations do not manufacture goods,[citation needed] but rather mobilize personnel to recruit funds and gain media coverage.
The termactivism industry has often been used to refer to outsourcedfundraising operations. However, activist organizations engage in other activities as well.[76]Lobbying, or the influencing of decisions made by government, is another activist tactic. Many groups, including law firms, have designated staff assigned specifically for lobbying purposes. In the United States, lobbying is regulated by the federal government.[77]
Many government systems encourage public support of non-profit organizations by granting various forms oftax relief for donations to charitable organizations. Governments may attempt to deny these benefits to activists by restricting the political activity of tax-exempt organizations.
^Clapham,Human Rights (2007), p. 19. "In fact, the moderncivil rights movement and the complex normative international framework have grown out of a number of transnational and widespread movements. Human rights were invoked and claimed in the contexts of anti-colonialism, anti-imperialism, anti-slavery, anti-apartheid, anti-racism, and feminist and indigenous struggles everywhere."
^"Direct action".Activist Handbook.Archived from the original on 13 July 2022. Retrieved13 July 2022.
^abTilly, Charles; Tarrow, Sidney (2015).Contentious Politics (Second revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.ISBN9780190255053.OCLC909883395.
^Schuler, Douglas (2008).Liberating Voices: A Pattern Language for Communication Revolution. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.ISBN9780262693660.
^"Activist Road Trip".Public Sphere Project. 2008.Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved1 November 2015.
^McAdam, Doug (1983). "Tactical Innovation and the Pace of Insurgency".American Sociological Review.48 (6):735–754.doi:10.2307/2095322.JSTOR2095322.
^Ayres, Jeffrey M. (1999). "From the Streets to the Internet: The Cyber-Diffusion of Contention".The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science.566 (1):132–143.doi:10.1177/000271629956600111.ISSN0002-7162.S2CID154834235.
^abZeynep, Tufekci (2017).Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest. New Haven: Yale University Press.ISBN9780300215120.OCLC961312425.
^Hector, Postigo (2012).The digital rights movement : the role of technology in subverting digital copyright. Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press.ISBN9780262305334.OCLC812346336.
^Meikle, Graham (2002).Future Active: Media Activism and the Internet. Annandale, N.S.W.: Pluto Press.ISBN978-1864031485.OCLC50165391.
^Samuel, Alexandra (2004).Hacktivism and the Future of Political Participation. Harvard University: Doctoral Dissertation.
^Earl, Jennifer; Kimport, Katrina (2011).Digitally Enabled Social Change: Activism in the Internet Age. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.ISBN9780262295352.OCLC727948420.
^Castells, Manuel (2015).Networks of Outrage and Hope: Social Movements in the Internet Age (2nd ed.). Cambridge, UK: Polity.ISBN9780745695754.OCLC896126968.
^Carne, Ross (2013).The Leaderless Revolution: How Ordinary People will Take Power and Change Politics in the 21st Century. New York: Plume.ISBN9780452298941.OCLC795168105.
^Markussen, T (2013). "The Disruptive Aesthetics of Design Activism: Enacting Design Between Art and Politics".Design Issues.29 (1): 38.doi:10.1162/DESI_a_00195.S2CID17301556.
^Tom Bieling (Ed.): Design (&) Activism – Perspectives on Design as Activism and Activism as Design. Mimesis, Milano, 2019,ISBN978-88-6977-241-2.
^Hirscher, Anja-Lisa (2013). "Fashion Activism Evaluation and Application of Fashion Activism Strategies to Ease Transition Towards Sustainable Consumption Behaviour".Research Journal of Textile and Apparel.17:23–38.doi:10.1108/RJTA-17-01-2013-B003.
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