Opportunity and oppression: Social movements in Burma and the ICT catalyst

Contentious politics shape governance through policy responses and regime changes; information and communication technologies (ICTs) may be reshaping the politics of contention by decreasing the costs of movement organization. This study seeks to discern the degree to which the Internet and ICTs impact contentious politics in Burma. The case study focuses on movement mobilization and outcomes from independence in 1948 to the pro-democracy movement of 1988 and the Saffron Revolution of 2007.;The pre-Web movements of 1948 and 1988 are juxtaposed with the 2007 Saffron Revolution, where the Internet and ICTs were used to mobilize and sustain the social movement. The use of ICTs in movement mobilization, along with their use in censorship and surveillance, is analyzed via the political opportunity framework. The study finds that ICTs support movement organization, though the use of ICTs for regime surveillance also can limit political opportunity and the overall success of social movements.