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Social Movements in the Information Communication Technology Age: The Case of Hong Kong1 Justin Jin1 Yale University
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Abstract This paper develops current understandings of social movements by incorporating research on state formation and counterinsurgency, expanding political process theory by introducing the concepts of legibility and capacity. It then considers the changes caused by widespread use of Internet communications technologies (ICTs). The paper conceptualizes state-movement contention as a competition for access to civil society and its resources. Movements and states attempt to maximize their access, otherwise known as capacity, and minimize that of their rival. The legibility of society to either side impacts their success. Success, or lack thereof, determines future capacity. Increased usage of ICTs and digital surveillance have decentralized movements, changing their organizational structures from hierarchical to decentralized and interlinked structures. Capacity, legibility, and action all take place through semi-spontaneous individual efforts, and knowledge and tactics are spread through social, not organizational, networks. As a result, trust has become a key component of capacity, rivalling – if not replacing – legibility.
BACKGROUND For most of the past year, Hong Kong has blazed with protests, driven by a single movement locked in contention with the government. The movement is distinguished by its unusual resilience and flexibility, able to survive repression and shift from peaceful assemblies to street battles to electioneering to aid provision and back again. In the past, such flexibility was the exclusive preserve of groups with centralized leaderships.2 Yet the consciously leaderless Hong Kongers have been able to adapt while maintaining their resilience. As tear gas swept the streets, and large messaging channels lit up with information about police movements, requests for aid, and tactical advice, a new style of protest took shape, and is being replicated around the world.3 1 Thanks to Professor Nathaniel Raymond and Isabel Salinas-Arreola for their help throughout the paper-writing process. 2 See Tufekci 2017 3 See reddit links in bibliography; additionally, based on anecdotal information, the protests in Portland, Oregon seem to have similar structures
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THEORY: This paper focuses on the competition between social movements and states over ideas, spaces, and, most importantly, access to the limited resources of civil society.4This includes institutional resources, such as organizational funds, contact lists, and facilities; and individual resources, such as logistical skills and physical presence. States and movements require these resources to build capacity, achieve their goals, and ultimately, survive. The more resources each side taps into, the greater their own penetration into civil society, the greater their capacity for action, and the fewer resources available to their rival. Capacity consists of the ability to convey information, to create and control narratives, and to mobilize and organize people.5 It is expressed through the mobilization of groups of 4 This is a loaded term, but I have chosen to combine the concepts from Mattingly 2020 and Keck and Sikkink 1998 5 Gee 2011; note that this definition combines some elements of the state formation literature’s understanding of capacity, but leaves out others. See Mann 1986
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people behind a narrative framework in displays of worthiness,
ibility and capacity to the list of critical factors for success.
unity, numbers, and commitment that signal a movement’s
Movements which remain illegible for longer and to whom
power.6 In short, the ability to effectively take action against
society is more legible are able to better develop capacity and
legible targets. States and movements allocate limited resourc-
exploit opportunities.
es between action and legibility. They aim to maximize capacity and limit disruption.
This departs from the current trend in social movement theory. Current literature strongly emphasizes the role
Action, which encompasses the coercive and persua-
of individuals and their decision-making process. The field
sive tools of a movement or state, is used to achieve goals,
of study has narrowed to “grievances, resources, political op-
ranging from increasing legibility to recruiting new members.
portunities or processes of meaning construction,” with a par-
The methods include staging marches, ordering arrests, and es-
ticular focus on individual rational choice and framing – the
tablishing surveillance, among others.
process of individually creating meaning.12 Approaches em-
Legibility is knowledge of society.7 It reflects how
phasize the agency of organizers and movement members. 13
well a state or movement understands their surrounding so-
I have chosen to return to structural theories because
ciety and refines its ability to act. States generally have little
they better characterize the state. In modern literature, the state
idea of the makeup of society, due to their limited penetration
tends to be treated as a static “cost of protest” which movement
into it. Movements, by contrast, are embedded within society.
members evaluate.14 It may change, but it is never an actor in
Historically, they emerge from society, meaning they initially
itself. By contrast, structuralist theories envision the state as an
are illegible to the state. Movements thus seek to capitalize on
actor, consciously responding to new innovations and chang-
their superior legibility and deny it to the state, while the state
es in circumstance. The specific behaviors and goals of the
tries to reorganize society into legible form.
state are drawn from the rich work on state decision-making
8
This view is solidly on the structuralist side of social
and goals that have been generated by the state formation and
movement literature. Structuralist theories emphasize the im-
counter-insurgency literatures, particularly their emphases on
portance of external variables, such as the social networks a
legibility and contention.15
movement can tap into,9 the particular repertoires permitted or forbidden by the state,
Information communication technologies (ICTs), par-
or the willingness of elites to defect.
ticularly encrypted social media and messaging apps, change
People, their reasons for protest, and their way of understanding
this calculus of capacity. They enhance both the ability to act
the world, are bracketed to focus on broader movement-state
and to control legibility, reducing costs and opening up new
dynamics. Societies always have grievances simmering below
avenues of action, communication, and surveillance. They
the surface, and people are naturally drawn by affinity to form
allow movements to not only reach civil society much more
groups. Those that succeed must have access to resources or
easily, but to instantaneously share techniques and knowledge
opportunity.
This paper particularly draws on political pro-
worldwide, creating spaces where they can refine ideas and
cess theory, which points to organizational strength, insurgent
train activists before engaging with the broader public.16 On
consciousness, and political opportunity as the main factors
the other hand, ICT communications produce data, making
determining the success of a movement. This paper adds leg-
users increasingly legible to states. More legible data means
6 Tilly 2006 7 Scott 1998, the concept is central to much of the rest of his work as well 8 Ibid. 9 McAdam 1982, among others 10 Tilly 2006, among others 11 A common premise of resource mobilization theory. See Aslanidis 2012
more legible people, information which the state can exploit
10
11
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12 Klandermans 1997, cited in Aslanidis 2012 13 Opp 2009, cited in Aslanidis 2012 and Jasper 2011, Klandermans 1997 14 For example, see Kuran, 1994, as well as Aslanidis 2012 15 See Mann 1986, Kalyvas 2012 and Galula, 1964 16 See Fraser 1990
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through conventional (e.g. arrests, harassment) or unconven-
the governing elite.24 Organizing protests thus became a way
tional means (e.g. trolls, doxing).
for the disenfranchised to make their voices heard.25 This sort
ICTs reduce the cost of capacity. Coordinating a mass march, once an immense logistical feat, now can be arranged
of movement-led contention practically became an informal branch of Hong Kong’s government.26
over smartphone.17 Identifying an individual, once expensive,
Movements were part of the language of politics, and
now can be done with an algorithm. Everything takes fewer
post-handover Hong Kong saw an “explosion of social pro-
resources, so both state and movement are able to spend their
tests.”27 Largest of these were the 2003 protests against Arti-
newfound surplus on further legibility and action. Where ICTs
cle 23, an anti-sedition bill. Since then, a new movement has
are widespread, then, contention will be more intense, and
emerged every two to three years, on average, as well as an-
more of society will be mobilized.
nual commemorative marches.28 Such a history makes the city
18
More intense protests present a threat to any state, but
an ideal example of both social movement dynamics and the
are regarded with particular concern by repressive regimes.
effects of ICTs.
Regimes have a long history of harassing and imprisoning dis-
ANALYSIS:
19
sidents to preempt movements, but ICTs make this easier than ever.20 Repression, combined with more protestors rejecting leadership structures, have flattened movement organizational structures.21 Rather than a center issuing dictates to the periphery, small groups connect dynamically, reconfiguring their organization to efficiently handle problems. Organizers, once leaders of movements, now coordinate, network, and filter, helping disseminate tactics, connect groups, and verify information. ICTs, combined with sufficient state repression, lead to movement structure resembling a mesh network.22
HONG KONG:
The theory would predict that contention between government and movement in Hong Kong would be incredibly intense, given Hong Kong’s high levels of ICT use and ownership. Not only would reduced cost of action lead to frequent and large-scale action, the reduced cost of legibility should lead to both sides understanding society while encryption renders them illegible to one another. While contention was incredibly intense, resources dedicated to legibility plateaued. Interviewees unanimously pointed to trust, rather than legibility, as the key component of capacity. Both state and movement spent a substantial amount of resources on ensur-
Hong Kong has spent nearly two centuries under the
ing or disrupting trust, rather than building legibility or taking
rule of a distant power. Locals in general, and non-elites in
action as a capacity-centric theory would predict. Once a base-
particular, were ignored by the state, so they turned to con-
line level of legibility/illegibility is reached, trust appears to
tention. During British occupation, “wave after wave of col-
take on equal, if not greater, importance than legibility.
lective actions” took place. Movements frequently succeed23
ed and their leaders were occasionally even incorporated into 17 Compare, for instance, the planning processed behind the 1963 March on Washington and the 2016 Women’s march; the former took much longer and was more intense than the latter 18 Soldatov 2017 19 Mattingly 2020 20 Ibid., among many, many other sources 21 Kuran 1991, Fraser 1990 22 A term from network theory and computer science referring to a collection of nodes which connect dynamically and consultatively; see Grieg 2018 23 Chen, Albert HY, 2009, “Social Movements and the Law in Post-Colonial Hong Kong” p. 3
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MOVEMENT STRUCTURE: The movement’s focus on trust rather than legibility comes from its decentralized structure. Social movements in Hong Kong have been decentralizing since 2014.
The
post-Umbrella prosecutions of Joshua Wong and other leaders made activists conscious of their legibility; most moved away 24 King, Ambrose YC, 1973 “The Administrative Adoption of Politics in Hong Kong”, cited in Kuan 1979 25 Chen 2009 26 Ibid. 27 Chen 2009 28 Cheng, interviewed 4/13/20
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from traceable platforms like Facebook and avoided publicity.29
these small networks, making each one a vessel of capacity. A
Many activists were also suspicious of would-be leaders, and
given movement member stood at a nexus of networks, whose
“there [was] no trust between the political system and civil so-
members ranged from fellow protestors to friends and family.39
ciety.”30 Many protestors believed that the 2014 movement had
ICTs both made such network structures possible and were
been fatally weakened when it was “hijacked by political par-
used to make them illegible to the state.
ties.” Those parties had attempted to impose codes of conduct
A patchwork of anonymous “admins” linked these
on protestors, enforced by party members. These members also
groups to one another and to the big channels.40 Admins were
served as liaisons, conveying strategic decisions and tactical re-
either the creators of larger channels or experienced protest-
quests back and forth between leadership and protestors.
ers with extensive networks. They vetted and passed on infor-
31
32
The 2019 movement rejected this, remaining consciously leaderless.
mation, and arranged transit, clothing changes, and legal aid,
“Most of the activities/ events are
among many other roles. “The admins were always online,”
self-initiated instead of organized by political parties as in the
and played a key role in tying together frontline protestors and
past,” with protestors organizing through personal networks.
34
various support groups.41 Admins were the nervous system of
Protestors first communicated primarily over LIHKG, a local
the movement, and communicated primarily through trusted
website, then over Telegram and Signal. Objectives, training,
intermediaries.42 These admins were not leaders by another
figures, and mascots emerged – meme-like – from a dense
name; they “[wouldn’t] initiate anything” on their own.43
33
network of communication channels and chatrooms.35 Individ-
Spontaneous organization was also common. Sup-
ual protestors would both join the larger general channels and
plies were frequently passed via human chain, often nearly
create their own group chats consisting of friends and other
across the island.44 Tactical changes were passed the same
protestors who they had met and worked with.36 These chats
way. “Someone would yell out a new destination, and the en-
were used to share information, make plans, and coordinate
tire march would change direction.”45 The combination of de-
times and places of action. The largest channels, such as 612
centralized networks of decision-making, admins, and willing-
Reminder, helped share vital information and amplify the
ness to accept decisions formed the basis of the movement’s
voices of individuals or groups in need, while smaller groups
flexibility, which in turn made the movement less legible and
served as incubators for new techniques.
harder to disrupt. This structure, with many small, specialized
Small groups made up the majority of this communication ecosystem. They formed around tasks, ranging from first-aiders, to firemen, to legal aiders. Other groups formed 37
as protestors cemented connections with one another, or with
groups operating in concert, connected by individuals, epitomizes the modern movement.
TRUST AND CAPACITY Within this structure, “[Everything] depend[ed] on
reliable sources of supplies, first aid, and transit, via Telegram groups. Most coordination and planning took place within 38
29 https://pen.org/advocacy-case/joshua-wong-alex-chow-nathan-law/ 30 Lo, 4/10/20 31 Cheng 4/25/20 32 Ibid. 33 Though civil society and political parties made extensive efforts to bury the hatchet and present a united front 34 Wan 4/2/20 35 Maureen 4/23/20; see Mina 2019 for further discussion, and Figure 1 for an example 36 Maureen, interview 4/23/20, Alex, interview 4/18/20 37 Wan, interview 4/2/20 38 Cheng, 4/25/20
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trust.”
46
Protestors would not interact online unless it was
“known to be safe,” meaning they knew and had met every member in person.47 Everyone used group-specific shibbo39 Ibid. 40 Cheng, 4/13/20 41 Cheng 4/25/20 42 Cheng, 4/13/20 43 Matt, 4/22/20 44 Maureen, 4/3/20 45 Ibid. 46 Cheng, 4/25/20 47 E.g. designed to be intentionally inaccessible to the government ; Maureen interview 4/23/20
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leths to verify their identity, ranging from Cantonese internet
to surveil and identify, decentralized protest means that the
slang to their real name.48 Admins “were trusted only because
range of potential targets has increased. The increase in targets
of their past organizing and protesting experience,” and cit-
outweighs the decrease in cost, leaving governments unable to
ed it to prove their trustworthiness. Interviewees as a whole
support surveillance strong enough to stop movements from
frequently mentioned the vital importance of trust, especially
functioning. However, states have been subverting movements
with regards to buying “stationary,” a euphemism for sensitive
for decades, if not centuries, and the anonymity provided by
supplies that would be left for protestors to retrieve.
the internet only made it easier. Entire movements, such a the
49
50
While protest has always relied on trust, and mass pro-
#yosoy132 movement in Mexico, collapsed after being infil-
test in particular, the mostly anonymous communications eco-
trated by government agents posing as organizers who turned
system in Hong Kong intensified the demand. Accounts, even
its leaders against one another.58
those entirely uninvolved with activism, on Telegram, LIHKG,
The government’s plainclothes police tactics illustrate
and other platforms frequently display no identifying informa-
the importance it assigned to weakening intra-movement trust.
tion. As a result, Hong Kong lacked the radical, all-encom-
When plainclothes police revealed themselves and started
passing trust which had characterized earlier movements like
making arrests, rather than targeting those who appeared expe-
Occupy. “[I had] to be skeptical,” noted multiple interview-
rienced or essential, they instead grabbed whoever they could
ees, since anonymous accounts could be anyone and “I don’t
reach.59 These plainclothes police would also sometimes wear
trust anyone.”53 Such demand was reinforced by the knowl-
blue armbands or a bracelet with a red flashing light, subtly
edge that the only way to get information from the “safety of
marking themselves as police.60 Similarly, efforts to infiltrate
Telegram” would be to infiltrate a group.54 Thus, trust in one’s
Telegram groups were “sometimes carried out from accounts
fellow group members limited one’s potential legibility. This
registered with a police department email.”61 Such clumsiness
connection only grew stronger as protestors embraced addition-
suggests the aim was not to arrest anyone important, reducing
al legibility-reduction techniques, such as wearing facemasks,
the movement’s ability to act, or to infiltrate the movement,
paying train fare with cash, and using lasers to interfere with
rendering it legible, but to sow suspicion among movement
cameras.
members. Both contenders indicated the importance of trust
51
52
55
Other members went even further, using “clean”
(burner) phones with “VPN, new SIM card, all the safety mea-
through their priorities.
sures.” Admins, among the most cautious of all, were most
The government aimed to fracture the networks of
afraid of trusting the wrong person and revealing secrets or
trust between protestors, leaving them paranoid and uncertain
spreading false information as a result.
Trust also played a
of the true intentions of nominal allies.62 Without this trust and
vital role in coordinating action. The spontaneous changes in
faith, the movement’s supporters would be much less likely to
direction and fluid response to requests for help would not have
contribute. It nearly succeeded. After plainclothes police re-
been possible without a deep trust among protestors.
vealed themselves, “people started turning on each other really
56
57
On the government side, while it is cheaper than ever 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57
Internet slang from Maureen 4/23/20, admin from Cheng 4/13/20 Cheng, 4/25/20 Cheng, 4/25/20 Personal experience in contacting interviewees Tufecki 2017, p. 59 Maureen, 4/3/20 and Matt 4/22/20 Alex, 4/13/20 See Maureen, interview 4/3/20 and Alex, interviewed 4/13/20 Matt, 4/22/20 and Cheng 4/13/20 Ibid.
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quick.”63 Groups would crumble as members were discovered to be passing information to the police. A man accused of being a plainclothes officer was zip-tied and beaten. Paranoia grew, to the point where people only trusted friends they knew 58 59 60 61 62 63
Trere, Emiliano, 2015 “The Struggle Within” Maureen, Interviewed 4/23/20 See reddit links in bibliography Maureen, interview 4/23/20 See Charles Tilly, Democracy Maureen, interviewed 4/3/20
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in real life.64 “...after that we think, everyone, maybe he is spy,
en change, has been characterized by the steady delegation of
and our [trust] is broken.”65
more and more capacities originally held by central organiz-
Small teams and individual chats were integral to
ers to the crowd, and the shrinking down of the units within
preserving what cohesion remained. Because members had
movements from organizations to trust networks, driven by an
seen their fellow group-members in action, they trusted one
underlying need to not only resist legibility but also to main-
another. In many cases, they had protested and clashed with
tain trust.
police side by side, or known them for years. Trust in real life
Networks of groups of people and their close, trusted
was used to develop trust online. Protestors also relied on
friends first provided their own narratives, then logistical sup-
reputations. Movement members who’d been leaders in previ-
port, then their own leadership and decision making. In the
ous movements were well-known, having built up credibility
place of the perfectly organized marches has arisen a messy,
over years of pro-democracy activity. Reputations of that sort
spontaneous process grounded within the local cultural context
inspired nearly universal acceptance, if not trust, and allowed
and informed by the experience of past movements. Move-
them to serve as “admins.” They also further strengthened
ment structures have transformed from a center informing a
their credibility by using their expertise to help coordinate lo-
periphery to a coordinated network of networks communicat-
gistics and solve thorny tactical problems. These admins had
ing within itself. A network-of-networks structure has allowed
information security protocols designed to prevent the spread
the Hong Kong movement to be more resilient, flexible, and
of incorrect information, protecting their credibility and limit-
adaptable than an equivalent centralized structure. This has
ing the spread of false or provocative stories.
also been visible in the ad hoc response to coronavirus, as
66
67
68
There are a couple questions here which would benefit from further research. First is the role of culture. Hong Kong
groups have sprung up to deliver masks and other needed supplies to those in need.70
has a very particular culture and history of protest, so sorting
This is not necessarily the future of movements. The
out the way it informed the movement and their structure is
Hong Kong movement evolved in response to specific con-
essential. Second, research into the methods used by admins
ditions, including effective and aggressive targeting of move-
in particular, to screen out rumors and false reports has great
ment leaders and a repressive state response. In countries
potential. Interlinked, decentralized networks can propagate
without these traits, intertwined individual and movement net-
false stories and cause an immense amount of harm. Under-
works provide little benefit. What will carry over, however, is
standing how information was curated and screened could
the fundamental shift: movements no longer primarily tap into
yield insights into addressing the spread of fake news online.
societal networks, but rather build on and evolve from them,
69
CONCLUSION: Change in social movements, particularly ICT-driv-
64 Cheng, interview 4/13/20, Maureen, interviewed 4/23/20 65 Matt, interview 4/22/20 66 Cheng, interview 4/13/20, among others. Also, small groups were sometimes penetrated, though that was relatively uncommon. See Maureen, interviewed 4/3/20 67 E.g. how to extract 200 protestors from a besieged university. Cheng, interview 4/25/20 Note: to be clear, this admin system was far from efficient, let alone perfect. Resources frequently were sent to incorrect locations or were sent in insufficient quantities. 68 I know they exist, but they were not divulged; Cheng interview 4/25/20 69 As has happened with WhatsApp chats in India, among other places
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INTERVIEWS: Cheng, Maureen, Wan, Alex, Kwan, Lo, and Matt
FIGURES:
protests-2019-8. SCOTT, JAMES C. SEEING LIKE A STATE: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed. YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1998. Skrenty, John David. “The Effect of the Cold War on African-American Civil Rights: America and the World Audience, 1945-1968.” The SHAFR Guide Online, 1998, doi:10.1163/2468-1733_shafr_sim140150133. Tarrow, Sidney G. Power in Movement: Social Movements and Contentious Politics. Cambridge University Press, 2011. Tilly, Charles. Contentious Performances. Cambridge University Press, 2008. Tilly, Charles. From Mobilization to Revolution. McGraw-Hill, 1978. Tilly, Charles. Regimes and Repetoires. University of Chicago Press, 2006. Tilly, Charles. Social Movements, 1768-2004. Routledge, 2004. Tilly, Charles. “Trust and Rule.” Theory and Society, 2005, pp. 1–30., doi:10.1017/cbo9780511618185. Touraine, Alain. The Voice and the Eye: an Analysis of Social Movements. Cambridge University Press, 1981. Trere, Emiliano. “The Struggle Within: Discord, Paranoia, and Conflict in Social Media Protest.” Critical Perspectives on
YURJ | yurj.yale.edu
Figure 1 Figures provided by Michael Tian, who was airdropped them in Hong Kong over the summer
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