Local Moral Economies: The Space, Place, and Locality of Social Media Mobilisation

Abstract

This study is a case study of a locally rooted environmental campaign on the Swedish island of Gotland. We aim to enhance the understanding of how locality is manifested in social movements that emerge in today’s networked world. We analyse how the double goals of speaking to, as well as beyond, the local context came into expression in the movement’s social media activities. We draw on data from tweets and Facebook posts and include interactions between activists and critics as well as the resources linked to in the posts. Analysis indicates that the conflict must be seen as spanning across local, national and global levels. In line with earlier research, activists used social media to link their struggle with other struggles. Also, it was used to charge the local struggle with symbolic content by framing it as one of many struggles between local communities, authorities and multinational corporations. Beyond this, posts from the island signalled dedication to the history and long-term interests of the community. We argue that future studies should recognise the crucial role that reciprocity norms in the local community can play for outcomes of conflicts and that the notion of a ‘local moral economy’ can be used to reach a deeper understanding of this.