Research On Internet And Contentious Actions

Since1995, the Internet was officially open to the public. The impact of the network has been beyondthe technical level, and deeply spread to various aspects of social life. It also brought new changes to thetraditional political participation and political control. On the backdrop of the stability maintenance, thetraditional protest is under strict control, so the Internet has become a breakthrough in the interests of thepublic expression. Massive network expression and protest gradually become normal. Except networkprotests based on the interests struggle, identity protest also appeared. Network protest makes themobilization of traditional protest; organized protest practices undergone significant changes.In the article, the network protest is defined as movements that activists use internet as a medium toprotest on the government, competitors and enemies. There are two protest methods, including networkpublic opinion protest, the network signature and petitions which rely on the pressure of public opiniononline protest, as well as online and offline action simultaneous polymerization protest. Through acomparative analysis of the network protest cases, the article explores the interaction of the Internet andprotest actions in the political protest in which mechanism to accomplish goals. By review of1995~2011network protests, the article describes the network of protest and new features, demonstrates the impact ofgovernment’s control and social exclusion to the consequences of protest.Through3mechanisms as well as national regulatory and social exclusion, it’s clearly that the internetplays an important role on the protest in China. As the reverse of Chinese social structure transformation,the network protest movement reveals the conflicts and plight of China’s social development in thetransition, the universality of the issues raises new challenges to the government concept of governance,which is worth the government to thought strategic adjustment.