Constructing Public Space: Global Perspectives on Social Media and Popular Contestation — Introduction

Thomas Poell, José van Dijck

Abstract


This introduction to the special section on the construction of public space in social media activism discusses (1) the types of social media practices involved in the construction of publicness during contemporary episodes of popular contention, (2) the particular political institutional contexts in which these practices are articulated, and (3) the technocommercial architectures through which they take shape. Building on the five articles in this section, we argue that public space is not readily available for today’s citizens and activists, but is conquered and constructed through processes of emotional connectivity.


Keywords


social media, activism, popular contention, public space, emotion, governmentality, technological infrastructures

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