From Egypt to Wisconsin: tactical innovation with digital media

Abstract

In 2011, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker introduced a budget repair bill that removed the rights of public sector unions to collectively bargain and inspired mass protests at the Wisconsin State Capitol and beyond. This article provides a first-hand account of these struggles from the perspective of online activists who designed DefendWisconsin.org, a digital organizing tool used widely during the protests. Although only one of several such sites, DefendWisconsin.org was essential for organizing graduate students in the Teaching Assistants' Association, a union that played a critical role in grassroots mobilizations. Squire and Gaydos detail the context for DefendWisconsin's design, launching, and evolution, with particular emphasis on its role in the broader ecology of online communities, activists, and resources. They situate this effort in a framework of nonviolent resistance and the broader peace movement highlighted by Ivan Marovic, a Serbian organizer who visited Madison during the protests. Squire and Gaydos conclude by contrasting the protests that occurred (particularly online), with the characteristics of broader social movements, suggesting lessons that grassroots organizers might learn from Wisconsin and revealing where there may be digital infrastructure for future organizers to leverage in their work.