Beyond the Internet

'Beyond the Internet addresses a challenging question of much political communication research: to what extent the Internet and social media determine political participation and behaviour. The temptation of technological determinism and cyber-optimism is always lurking when it comes to explain why and how political protests have spanned through Europe in rich new-media ecosystems. The greatest strength of this volume is the authors' ability to provide convincing evidence that the Internet's magic is rather embedded in extra-web structures. The Internet empowers above all those that already possess a political culture. This book will be extremely useful not only to researchers but to practitioners in the media and in the political system.' - Gianpietro Mazzoleni, University of Milan, Italy 'This is an extremely timely collection on the role of digital media and the internet in protest movements which avoids simplistic celebrations of technological affordances but yet gives the media proper attention. Through well chosen empirical cases and theoretical rigour, this is essential reading for anyone trying to understand the contemporary economic and political crises in Europe and beyond.'- Goran Bolin, Sodertorn University, Sweden 'This good collection examines how the internet has empowered radical opposition in Western Europe, but also takes account of the formidable obstacles that still stand in the way of its succeeding. It is a scholarly, level-headed but also uplifting book.' - James Curran, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK