Online mobilization and perspective taking in contentious politics

This article presents an approach to the intergroup contact theory focusing on the value of perspective taking as a central premise in a broad conception of democracy as it implies acknowledging conflict and having respect for political adversaries. I look into protest mobilization and the role that movements and civil society organizations play as mediators in contentious politics in the internet and argue that online protest mobilization processes provide bridging between political divides as protest conveyors need to counter-argue adversarial arguments and frames. Three protest events in Spain are studied through surveys of protesters and through network analysis of issue actors online in order to link individual attitudes with intergroup interaction. This approach provides preliminary evidence to support the theory that online mobilization serves as a contact space which affects the disposition of protest participants for considering opposing stances in political conflicts.