Digital governance of social movements in contemporary India

当代印度社会运动的数字治理

• 批准号: ES/Y007662/1
• 金额: $ 12.55万
• 依托单位: University of York
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Fellowship
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ES%2FY007662%2F1
• 关键词: Digital; governance; social; movements; contemporary

ContextFor social movements, the digital acts as both a tool of contestation and a tool of oppression. This is especially in the Global South, where digital governance stems from both the state and the Global North. In India in particular, strict measures have been introduced in the name of digital sovereignty, but often with grave implications for internet freedom, and democratic process. Now living in the internet shutdown capital of the world, activists in India offer unique perspective on the developing nature of digital governance, through their experiences of navigating and confronting it.For my PhD research, I looked at the experiences of internet shutdowns, shadowbanning (the algorithmic de- prioritising or hiding of content without the user's knowledge) and doxxing (the sharing of personal identifying information, particularly contact details, without the user's consent) with feminist activists in northern India. I found that activists do perceive of the digital sphere as colonised, but in a complex interaction between the state government, multinational technology corporations, and pro-government activists. This has implications for theorising digital governance and (post)coloniality in contemporary India and beyond. Existing research on digital governance largely fails to consider the perspectives of those being governed.AimsThis Fellowship will consolidate my existing work through dissemination, and extend the scope of the research through exploratory work with related social movements in India: in particular the internet freedom movement, the Dalit rights movement, and the LGBTQ+ movement. I will engage key stakeholders including academics (in the UK, India and beyond), policy-influencers (think tanks and NGOs concerned with digital governance), and the activists themselves. I will build bridges between academics and practitioners, sharing knowledge across fields of expertise and geographic contexts, culminating in a workshop and consequent report. I aim to highlight the need to centre social movement perspectives in both research and policy work on digital governance, given the unique perspective offered by those engaged in active resistance. My thesis highlights that although there is a growing body of work on the coloniality of digital governance, there is little that considers the impact on social movement organising specifically, and the relationship between coloniality and post-colonial governance. I plan to build on my findings by examining them in intersectional context, considering issues of sexuality and caste in particular. These aims will be achieved through:Publishing my existing findings in relevant Politics and IR journals, making empirical, theoretical and methodological contributions;Organising a focused workshop on activism and governance, bringing together academics, practitioners and activists;Build connections with leading internet freedom and net neutrality organisations in India to contribute to existing campaigning and policy-influence work;Carrying out initial interviews with influential activists in related movements, building on existing networks in India and gaining intersectional perspectives on digital governance.This approach will allow me to enhance my profile as a researcher in UK and Indian academia, through both publication and networking, leading to greater opportunities for impact, and for career development.Next stepsI plan to develop a larger application to the Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship (February 2024) and the ESRC New Investigator Grant (July 2024). The Fellowship will allow me to carry out the necessary exploratory work for defining future research in the area of digital governance and social movements.

对于社会运动来说，数字既是一种压迫的工具，也是一种压迫的工具。尤其是在全球南方，数字治理源于国家和全球北方。特别是在印度，以数字主权的名义采取了严格的措施，但往往对互联网自由和民主进程产生严重影响。现在生活在世界互联网关闭之都，印度的活动家通过他们的导航和面对它的经验，对数字治理的发展性质提供了独特的视角。（在用户不知情的情况下对内容进行算法去优先化或隐藏）和doxxing（未经用户同意，共享个人身份信息，特别是联系方式）与印度北方的女权活动家。我发现活动家确实认为数字领域被殖民了，但在州政府，跨国技术公司和亲政府活动家之间的复杂互动中。这对当代印度及其他地区的数字治理和（后）殖民主义理论化具有影响。现有的数字治理研究在很大程度上未能考虑被治理者的观点。目的该奖学金将通过传播来巩固我现有的工作，并通过与印度相关社会运动的探索性工作来扩展研究范围：特别是互联网自由运动、达利特人权利运动和LGBTQ+运动。我将与关键利益相关者合作，包括学者（英国，印度等地），政策影响者（智库和关注数字治理的非政府组织）以及活动家本身。我将在学者和从业者之间建立桥梁，分享跨专业领域和地理环境的知识，最终在研讨会和随之而来的报告。我的目的是强调需要在数字治理的研究和政策工作中集中社会运动的观点，因为那些积极抵抗的人提供了独特的视角。我的论文强调，虽然有越来越多的工作对数字治理的殖民性，有很少考虑到社会运动组织的影响，以及殖民性和后殖民治理之间的关系。我计划以我的调查结果为基础，在交叉背景下对其进行审查，特别是考虑性和种姓问题。这些目标将通过以下方式实现：在相关的政治和IR期刊上发表我现有的研究结果，做出经验，理论和方法上的贡献;组织一个关于行动主义和治理的重点研讨会，汇集学者，从业者和活动家;与印度领先的互联网自由和网络中立组织建立联系，为现有的运动和政策影响工作做出贡献;与相关运动中有影响力的活动家进行初步访谈，建立在印度现有的网络上，并获得数字治理的交叉视角。这种方法将使我能够提高我作为英国和印度研究人员的形象学术界，通过出版物和网络，导致更大的机会的影响，并为职业发展.Next stepsI计划开发一个更大的应用程序到Leverhulme早期职业奖学金（2024年2月）和ESRC新的研究者补助金（2024年7月）.该奖学金将使我能够开展必要的探索性工作，以确定未来在数字治理和社会运动领域的研究。