Pro-democracy struggle in the age of social media: Evolution of military and resistance strategies in post-coup Myanmar
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Pro-democracy struggle in the age of social media : Evolution of military and resistance strategies in post-coup Myanmar. / Tran, Mai Van; Ryan, Megan.
Myanmar after the Coup: Resistance, Resilience, and Re-invention. ed. / Giuseppe Gabusi; Raimondo Neironi . Torino : Torino World Affairs Institute, 2022. p. 54-67.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Book chapter › Research
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TY - CHAP
T1 - Pro-democracy struggle in the age of social media
T2 - Evolution of military and resistance strategies in post-coup Myanmar
AU - Tran, Mai Van
AU - Ryan, Megan
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - In this latest nationwide struggle against military rule in Myanmar, both the military and the anti-coup resistance forces have relied on conventional and digital strategies to discredit their opponents and gain widespread support for their actions. To what extent do social media platforms serve to facilitate and popularize pro-democratic calls? And how do the pro- and anti-military forces adapt their strategies over time? Using an original dataset of 5,200 public Facebook posts and 708 military newspaper articles published between March and May 2021, we address these questions by integrating a qualitative content analysis with statistical analysis. In a stark departure from military media, we find most coup-related Facebook posts are either explicitly anti-military or neutral news. However, military media overall features more resistance-related content than on social media, which might reflect the military’s active attempt to reframe reality. Nonetheless, the military’s violent repression of resistance forces on the ground continues to engender online backlash rather than stifle dissent. Finally, although pro-resistance content enjoys a significantly higher rate of engagement on average than pro-military content, we find pro-resistance posts gradually declining while pro-military rhetoric is gaining ground. This may reflect power differentials between the pro- and anti-coup forces, as well as the resistance actors’ adaptation to the increasing threat of digital repression. The findings from our paper serve to deepen our understanding of social media’s evolving affordances of and limitations to anti-authoritarian efforts across the country.
AB - In this latest nationwide struggle against military rule in Myanmar, both the military and the anti-coup resistance forces have relied on conventional and digital strategies to discredit their opponents and gain widespread support for their actions. To what extent do social media platforms serve to facilitate and popularize pro-democratic calls? And how do the pro- and anti-military forces adapt their strategies over time? Using an original dataset of 5,200 public Facebook posts and 708 military newspaper articles published between March and May 2021, we address these questions by integrating a qualitative content analysis with statistical analysis. In a stark departure from military media, we find most coup-related Facebook posts are either explicitly anti-military or neutral news. However, military media overall features more resistance-related content than on social media, which might reflect the military’s active attempt to reframe reality. Nonetheless, the military’s violent repression of resistance forces on the ground continues to engender online backlash rather than stifle dissent. Finally, although pro-resistance content enjoys a significantly higher rate of engagement on average than pro-military content, we find pro-resistance posts gradually declining while pro-military rhetoric is gaining ground. This may reflect power differentials between the pro- and anti-coup forces, as well as the resistance actors’ adaptation to the increasing threat of digital repression. The findings from our paper serve to deepen our understanding of social media’s evolving affordances of and limitations to anti-authoritarian efforts across the country.
KW - Faculty of Social Sciences
KW - Myanmar
KW - social media
KW - protest movements
KW - democracy
M3 - Book chapter
SN - 9788894080346
SP - 54
EP - 67
BT - Myanmar after the Coup
A2 - Gabusi, Giuseppe
A2 - Neironi , Raimondo
PB - Torino World Affairs Institute
CY - Torino
ER -
ID: 326448221