Civic Engagement, Communication-Based Networks and Conservative Future: Technocultural and Organisational Change, 2008-10

Ridge-Newman, A. (2015) Civic Engagement, Communication-Based Networks and Conservative Future: Technocultural and Organisational Change, 2008-10. In: PSA 65th Annual International Conference, Sheffield, UK, 30 Mar - 1 Apr 2015,

Abstract

In the run-up to the 2015 UK General Election, social media (Web 2.0) like blogs, Facebook and Twitter seem to have become widely accepted and established modes of civic engagement. However, in the run-up to 2010, these media were newer, less understood and largely associated with younger generations. Therefore, it seems pertinent to examine the impact of the advent of these communicationbased networks in the culture of the young people who were civically engaged at the time. Using, as a case study, Conservative Future, the young activist wing of the British Conservative Party, this paper presents findings drawn from qualitative data that were gathered while in the field with young Conservative participants, between 2008 and 2012. Observations suggest that there was an emergence of a technologically-centred innovation culture that helped dissolve traditional geographical and hierarchical barriers to grassroots activity. It is argued that a culture of Facebook participation evolved organically through a learning and copying behaviour within cohorts at the grassroots of Conservative Future, which in turn acted as a driver of change that impacted upon the more established characteristics of the party’s organisational culture. This change is described to be associated with a technologically-driven subculture that is argued to have been extant in the party between 2008 and 2010. The author calls this subculture “Cyber Toryism”.

• Item Type: Conference Proceedings
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Ridge-Newman, Dr Anthony
• Authors: Ridge-Newman, A.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Politics
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2015 The Authors
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced with the permission of the publisher.