The Rise and Demise of the Iranian Green Revolution: Collective Action Framing in Social Media

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the role of social media in galvanizing street protests, demonstrations, and other forms of democratic participation associated with the Iranian Green Movement, and examines how Iranian activists framed relevant events, norms, values, ideologies, issues, narratives, and symbols on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and other websites. The political, social, economic, and technological circumstances in Iran that triggered the Green Revolution and eventually contributed to its apparent demise are investigated. In particular, the chapter explores how movement activists utilized social media to enunciate their political demands and mobilize supporters—both within Iran and around the world. Attempts by activists to achieve a frame alignment between the Green Movement and relevant indigenous (national) and transnational discursive concepts are examined. The chapter proposes that the use of collective action frames in social media was initially instrumental in mobilizing the Green Movement and contesting the dominant frames of the regime, but ultimately proved to be insufficient and even counterproductive at times in sustaining the necessary levels of popular support to topple the regime from power.