Transnacionalni društveni pokreti u eri Interneta: slučaj „Avaaz”
Transnational Social Movements in the Internet Era: The Case of „Avaaz”

Summary/Abstract: The paper will deal with concept and range of transnational social movements at the beginning of 21st century, which is a period characterized by huge growth of importance of new technologies and Internet. We will be interested in the role of transnational social movements which base or at least overwhelmingly organize their activity through Internet and social networks; „Avaaz” will be taken as an example since it is the most popular activist community at the mentioned network. The key aim will be to describe and partly explain the possibilities that Internet provides for functioning of movements, but also to give indications of strategic and tactical changes in their actions, as well as of dangers such type of technology can cause in relation to practical social and political consequences. Firstly, it will shortly be spoken about the concept of transnational social movements, then about the relation between Internet and democracy, conditions that lead to development of new practices such as direct democracy or e-democracy and about the political participation on the Internet. Then the focus will move to „Avaaz” movement, its recent features and activities, the ethics of this movement that might be defined as cosmopolitan, but also to critics that might be directed to „Avaaz”. The final part of the paper will be devoted to considerations on transnational social movement’s future and their real and potential impact on emergence of global civil society, in order to assess the achievements of this particular and similar movements.

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