Transnational Trend in Political Communication PDF

Transnational Trend in Political Communication Ikhwanul Muslimin  Introduction: Transnationalism Transnationalism refers to economic, political, and cultural processes that extend beyond the boundaries of nation-states. The concept of transnationalism suggests a weakening of the c...

Transnational Trend in Political Communication Ikhwanul Muslimin  Introduction: Transnationalism Transnationalism refers to economic, political, and cultural processes that extend beyond the boundaries of nation-states. The concept of transnationalism suggests a weakening of the control a nation-state has over its borders, inhabitants, and territory With increased global mobility and access to instantaneous worldwide communication technology, boundaries dissolve and the territorial controls imposed by the traditional nation-state become less relevant. This witnessed increased immigration to developed countries in response to global economic development has resulted in multicultural societies  Introduction: Transnationalism Cont… Transnationalism relates to the concept of globalization – a concept that represents the intensification of economic, cultural, and political practices accelerating across the globe in the early 21st century. Although many large corporations have been operating globally for decades, the Internet has enabled small organizations and individuals to access instantaneously a worldwide communication network.  From the old to the new transnationalism The old paradigm of transnationalism views or known as the realism paradigm in international organizations “are merely instruments of governments, and therefore unimportant in their own right”. This view sees its emphasis on states as the only important actors in international politics. In addition, most scholars focused mainly on transnational economic relations and, in particular, on the multinational corporation. The study of transnational relations was mainly through economic policy making. Until recently political scientist relised that much of transnational organizing deals with political and humanitarian issues such as refugees, violence against women and children, and human rights and not only from the economy point of view  From the old to the new transnationalism Cont… In the new form of transnationalism, all forms of transnational activity are not controlled by the governments. The concept of transnationalism includes activities of nongovernmental actors, and they act relatively autonomously from the government THE SOURCE OF NEW TRANSNATIONAL The are four main sources in new transnational in politics: 1. Grassroots insurgencies (e.g. MeeToo, BERSIH) that framed their claims globally and sought international support. It started with domestic contention that becomes transnational and enjoys international Support. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grassroots  Cont… THE SOURCE OF NEW 2. International protest events (e.g. the “Occupy Wall Street”) that brought TRANSNATIONAL together coalitions of transnational and national groups against powerfultargets like the World Trade Organization or the International Monetary Fund; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupy_Wall_Street THE SOURCE OF NEW TRANSNATIONAL Cont… 3. Transnational activist coalitions against some national states, e.g. Save Darfur This type results mainly from elite transnational activist using domestic institutions or international institutions, often with weak domestic support in targeted states. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Save_Darfur_Coalition THE SOURCE OF NEW TRANSNATIONAL 4. INGOs within and around international institutions and international treaty writing This type involves transnational activists in cooperative relations with states and international institutions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_non- governmental_organization  FORMS OF TRANSNATIONAL ACTION There are three main forms of transnational action: (1) Transnational Social Movements (2) International Nongovernmental Organizations (3) Transnational Activist Networks  FORMS OF TRANSNATIONAL ACTION (1) Transnational Social Movements Social movements must be defined by the kind of actions in which they routinely engage in contentious politics Social movements are a form of contention which can be defined as: “socially mobilized groups engaged in sustained contentious interaction with powerholders in which at least one actor is either a target or a participant.” (McAdam et al 2001) CONTENTION = HEATED DISAGREEMENT  FORMS OF TRANSNATIONAL ACTION (1) Transnational Social Movements To be transnational, an entity ought to have social and political bases outside its target state or society; But to be a social movement, it ought to be clearly rooted within social networks and engaged in contentious, sustained interaction. This produces a definition of transnational social movements as: “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 an international institution, or a multinational economic actor.” (McAdam et al 2001)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zySKwvQCpXE  FORMS OF TRANSNATIONAL ACTION (1) Transnational Social Movements ICT have begun to play an The widespread influence of social increasingly significant role in social media-enabled social movements in movements (to become inspiring marginalized populations transnational) in that they allow and also demonstrate the role of citizens to coordinate and produce social media as an alternative change in their community through platform for the powerless to have collective action across national their voices heard (Tye et al. 2018) boundary (Tye et al. 2018)  FORMS OF TRANSNATIONAL ACTION (1) Transnational Social Movements - BERSIH Case Description: The Bersih Movement Bersih movement was a community movement that non-partisan Malaysian citizens across the world drove to campaign for clean and fair elections in the country (Tye et al. 2018; Johns & Cheong, 2019). Consequently, many prominent Malaysian political commentators began to harness social media / blogs to cultivate awareness of the nation’s political state. Along with the involvement of opposition political members and civil society groups, this initial form of citizen mobilization resulted in the first Bersih rally (Bersih 1.0) on 10 November 2007, with participants gathering around four public locations in the downtown area of Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, an uncommon occurrence in the country’s history.  FORMS OF TRANSNATIONAL ACTION (1) Transnational Social Movements (BERSIH) For the first time, the overseas Malaysian diaspora demonstrated their support for local Malaysians by organizing solidarity gatherings in more than 32 countries (e.g., Australia, the UK, New Zealand, and France) worldwide (Bersih, 2016). How this diaspora organized these gatherings highlights two key defining aspects of the Bersih movement: 2) the extent to which support for the 1) the movement’s widespread success in movement transcended both geographical leveraging social media to mobilize supporters, boundaries and societal demographics such as and race and religion  FORMS OF TRANSNATIONAL ACTION (1) Transnational Social Movements (example) Facilitated by the widespread use of social media, the growing momentum that Bersih gathered in the lead up to its second rally gained the attention from the concerned Malaysian diaspora overseas and the international media, including the BBC, The Economist, and The Wall Street Journal. For the first time, the overseas Malaysian diaspora demonstrated their support for local Malaysians by organizing solidarity gatherings in more than 32 countries (e.g., Australia, the UK, New Zealand, and France) worldwide (Bersih, 2016). How this diaspora organized these gatherings highlights two key defining aspects of the Bersih movement: 1) the movement’s widespread success in leveraging (taking advantage) social media to mobilize supporters, and 2) the extent to which support for the movement transcended both geographical boundaries and societal demographics such as race and religion FORMS OF TRANSNATIONAL ACTION (2) International Nongovernmental Organizations The number of INGOs is growing rapidly. For example, Boli and Thomas (1999) count nearly 6000 INGOs founded between 1875 and 1988. Although the term has gained great currency in recent debates, it is surprising how little consensus there seems to be on the definition or operationalization of INGOs. International nongovernmental organizations are organizations that operate independently of governments, are composed of members from two or more countries, and are organized to advance their members’ international goals and provide services to citizens of other states through routine transactions with states, private actors, and international institutions. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/267559064.pdf FORMS OF TRANSNATIONAL ACTION (2) International Nongovernmental Ogranizations The term NGO stands for nongovernmental organization, and it includes a variety of organizations such as “private voluntary organizations,” “civil society organizations,” and “nonprofit organization” (McGann & Johnstone, 2006). Usually, NGOs are defined as organizations that pursue a public interest agenda, rather than commercial interests. The main distinction between INGOs and social movements becomes primarily behavioral. Although both may have social change goals, transnational social movements engage in sustained contentious interaction with states, multinational actors, or international institutions, whereas INGOs engage in routine transactions with the same kinds of actors and provide services to citizens of other states. FORMS OF TRANSNATIONAL ACTION (2) International Nongovernmental Organizations (example) Environmental International Nongovernmental Organizations This NGOs work directly for the preservation of the environment and provide for “popular participation and influence” in environmental politics. For example: Greenpeace has 2.8 million supporters world- wide. The actors play an indispensable role in identifying risks, assessing environmental impacts, designing and implementing measures to as well as maintaining the high degree of public and political interest required as a basis for action.  FORMS OF TRANSNATIONAL ACTION (3) Transnational Activist Networks Transnational Activist Networks - INGOs frequently operate in temporary or long-term alliances with other actors (state and nonstate, transnational and domestic) to advance their policy goals. This has added a new and dynamic category to the study of transnational politics “A transnational advocacy network includes those relevant actors working internationally on an issue, who are bound together by shared values, a common discourse, and dense exchanges of information and services.” Such networks “are most prevalent in issue areas characterized by high value content and informational uncertainty” (Keck & Sikkink 1998:2).  FORMS OF TRANSNATIONAL ACTION (3) Transnational Activist Networks Transnational advocacy networks are not alternatives to social movements or INGOs; on the contrary, they can contain them—in the loose way that networks contain anything—as well as containing governmental agents in either their official or unofficial capacities. They are the informal and shifting structures through which NGO members, social movement activists, government officials, and agents of international institutions can interact and help resource-poor domestic actors to gain leverage in their own societies. FORMS OF TRANSNATIONAL ACTION (3) Transnational Activist Networks (example) In Malaysia, a pro-Palestinian transnational advocacy network (TAN) has emerged since the war between Israel and Gaza in 2008–09 involving state actors and NGOs at the same time: (i) Pro-Palestinian NGOs (PCOM), (ii) Hamas and (iii) the Malaysian UMNO. The common transnational cause of the TAN is the liberation of Palestine and the struggle against Israel. All actors involved in it openly advocate for this cause. At the same time, each of the three actors uses the network to follow its own interests. The pro-Palestinian TAN in Malaysia concentrate on the Palestinian cause as a global issue, but do so from a bottom-up perspective; to strengthen advocacy and awareness for the Palestinian cause in Malaysian society and politics.