Communication, information and repertotory of action of social movements in Brazil and Germany: access to information and social participation

Abstract

Information and communication are key elements that empower individuals to actively engage in political and social life. Through the communication and information networks established by social movements, people gain access to knowledge, data, arguments, and perspectives that can influence their opinions, engagement, and actions. Considering the importance of information and communication for democracy and civic participation, this text explores the action repertoires of social movements and their relationship with citizenship and media systems, particularly the internet, reflecting on their political, social, and cultural practices. In its theoretical journey, the text presents a conceptual and relational approach to information, communication, and civic participation, encompassing a certain performative dimension of social movements, manifested in mobilization, organization, and articulation of these movements around their political and social objectives. In the partial results, examples from Brazil and Germany in this context are discussed. The study was developed following the methodological procedures prescribed in the Systematic Literature Review. National and international databases provided by the German university Technische Universität Dortmund, such as Scopus, Web of Science, and SciELO, were consulted. The Capes Theses and Dissertations Portal and the libraries of Unesp, USP, and Unicamp, all Brazilian institutions, were also consulted. Searches focused on strategically selected topics in the areas of Communication, Sociology, and Information Science, prioritizing publications from the 2000s, with an emphasis on those from the 2010s, without disregarding classical works from earlier periods. In the end, 67 references were selected and their content was systematically organized: relevant information from each study (e.g., methods and results) was extracted and recorded systematically. Social movements bring a variety of perspectives and voices to public discourse. They represent interests and groups often excluded or marginalized, ensuring that democracy is inclusive and that a wide range of concerns is considered in policy formulation. They can encourage active citizen participation, involving citizens in activities such as protests, petitions, and political engagement. This strengthens democracy as citizens feel more connected and involved in the political process. The reflection on information, communication, and social movements presented in this study suggests that social movements are active political actors in the public sphere who, even though they may not engage with all sectors of society or with political power, are legitimate carriers of specific demands from social groups and work in favor of democracy through citizen practices. The communication and information networks established by them are essential to support the alternative public sphere and build the foundations of the movement itself, which leads us to understand that the relationship between social movements, information and communication is intimate and intense.