| 1. |
- Andersson, Claes, 1973, et al.
(författare)
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An evolutionary developmental approach to cultural evolution
- 2014
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Ingår i: Current Anthropology. - : University of Chicago Press. - 0011-3204 .- 1537-5382. ; 55:2, s. 154-174
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Evolutionary developmental theories in biology see the processes and organization of organisms as crucial for understanding the dynamic behavior of organic evolution. Darwinian forces are seen as necessary but not sufficient for explaining observed evolutionary patterns. We here propose that the same arguments apply with even greater force to culture vis-à-vis cultural evolution. In order not to argue entirely in the abstract, we demonstrate the proposed approach by combining a set of different models into a provisional synthetic theory, and by applying this theory to a number of short case studies. What emerges is a set of concepts and models that allow us to consider entirely new types of explanations for the evolution of cultures. For example we see how feedback relations - both within societies and between societies and their ecological environment - have the power to shape evolutionary history in profound ways. The ambition here is not to produce a definite statement on what such a theory should look like but rather to propose a starting point along with an argumentation and demonstration of its potential.
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| 2. |
- Andersson, Claes, 1973, et al.
(författare)
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Developing of the future: scaffolded Darwinism in societal evolution
- 2014
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Ingår i: Behavioral and Brain Sciences. - 0140-525X .- 1469-1825. ; 37:4, s. 417-418
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We sympathize with the project of a synthetic approach for devising a "theory of intentional change" and agree that Darwinism should be central in such a theory. But Darwinism is not the only process of evolution that needs to be included. Evolutionary biology itself has taken such a turn recently, with the emergence of developmental evolutionary approaches.
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| 3. |
- Andersson, Claes, 1973, et al.
(författare)
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Societal Systems - Complex or worse?
- 2014
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Ingår i: Futures : The journal of policy, planning and futures studies. - : Elsevier BV. - 0016-3287. ; 63, s. 145-157
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The basic observation that we explore in this paper is simple but, we argue, rich in consequences: societal systems combine two qualities that are commonly referred to as complexity and complicatedness. We address the problem that societal systems remain recalcitrant despite the development of powerful approaches for dealing with both of these qualities. The root of this problem we identify to be that the combination between complexity and complicatedness is emergent; i.e. fundamentally and irreducibly different from either quality in isolation. This means that neither class of such approaches can be expected to work well on their own. But it also means that the obvious strategy of combining theory for complexity and complicatedness may be much more challenging than envisioned. In short, systems where complexity and complicatedness is mixed ought to be treated as a distinct class of systems. Noting a connection to what has long been called "wicked problems" we hereby outline such a class of systems that we call "wicked systems". We introduce a simple model and heuristic and discuss some implications for theorizing and modeling.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Törnberg, Anton, 1985, et al.
(författare)
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Combining CDA and topic modeling: Analyzing discursive connections between Islamophobia and anti-feminism on an online forum
- 2016
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Ingår i: Discourse & Society. - : SAGE Publications. - 0957-9265 .- 1460-3624. ; 27:4, s. 401-422
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this article we present an analysis of the discursive connections between Islamophobia and anti-feminism on a large Internet forum. We argue that the incipient shift from traditional media toward user-driven social media brings with it new media dynamics, relocating the (re)production of societal discourses and power structures and thus bringing about new ways in which discursive power is exercised. This clearly motivates the need to critically engage this field. Our research is based on the analysis of a corpus consisting of over 50 million posts, collected from the forum using custom web crawlers. In order to approach this vast material of unstructured text, we suggest a novel methodological synergy combining critical discourse analysis (CDA) and topic modeling – a type of statistical model for the automated categorization of large quantities of texts developed in computer science. By rendering an overview or ‘content map’ of the corpus, topic modeling provides an enriching complement to CDA, aiding discovery and adding analytical rigor.
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| 6. |
- Törnberg, Anton, 1985, et al.
(författare)
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Intimate Communities of Hate. Why Social Media Fuels Far-Right Extremism
- 2024
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Bok (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Social media has fundamentally transformed political life, driving a surge in far-right extremism. In recent years, radical anti-democratic ideologies have entered into the political mainstream, fueled by energy from extreme online environments. But why do far-right extremist movements seem to thrive so well on social media platforms? What takes place within the fringe online spaces that seem to function as incubators for violent extremists? To answer these questions, this book goes inside the “murder capital of the racist Internet”, examining 20 years of conversations on Stormfront.org. Using a combination of computational text analysis and close reading, we seek a deeper understanding of the emotional and social effects of being part of an extremist community. We lay the foundation of a new way of understanding online extremism, building on the tradition of Émile Durkheim and Randall Collins. We find that online radicalization is not merely an effect of repeated one-sided arguments, as suggested by metaphors such as “echo chambers”. Instead, social media politics can be better understood through Durkheim’s concept of rituals: moments of shared attention and emotion that create emotional energy and a sense of intersubjectivity, weaving from participants a political tribe – united, energized, and poised to act.
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| 7. |
- Törnberg, Anton, 1985, et al.
(författare)
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Modelling free social spaces and the diffusion of social mobilization
- 2017
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Ingår i: Social Movement Studies. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1474-2829 .- 1474-2837. ; 16:2, s. 182-202
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Free social spaces have long been emphasized in the social movement literature. Under names such as safe spaces, social havens, and counterpublics, they have been characterized as protective shelters against prevailing hegemonic ideologies and as hubs for the diffusion of ideas and ideologies. However, the vast literature on these spaces has predominantly focused on internal dynamics and processes, thus neglecting how they relate to the diffusion of collective mobilization. Inspired by formal modeling in collective action research, we develop a network model to investigate how the structural properties of free social spaces impact the diffusion of collective mobilization. Our results show that the assumption of clustering is enough for structural effects to emerge, and that clustering furthermore interacts synergistically with political deviance. This indicates that it is not only internal dynamics that play a role in the relevance of free social spaces for collective action. Our approach also illustrates how formal modeling can deepen our understanding of diffusion processes in collective mobilizations through analysis of emergent structural effects.
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| 8. |
- Törnberg, Anton, 1985, et al.
(författare)
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Muslims in social media discourse: Combining topic modeling and critical discourse analysis : Muslims in social media discourse
- 2016
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Ingår i: Discourse, Context & Media. - : Elsevier BV. - 2211-6958. ; 13:September 2016, s. 132-142
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article combines topic modeling and critical discourse analysis to examine patterns of representation around the words Muslim and Islam in a 105 million word corpus of a large Swedish Internet forum from 2000 to 2013. Despite the increased importance of social media in the (re)production of discursive power in society, this is the first study of its kind. The analysis shows that Muslims are portrayed in the forum as a homogeneous outgroup that is embroiled in conflict, violence and extremism: characteristics that are described as emanating from Islam as a religion. These patterns are strikingly similar to – but often more extreme versions of – those previously found in analysis of traditional media. This indicates that, in this case, the internet forum seems to serve as an “online amplifier” that reflects and reinforces existing discourses in traditional media, which is likely to result in even stronger polarizing effects on public discourses.
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| 9. |
- Törnberg, Anton, 1985, et al.
(författare)
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White supremacists anonymous: how digital media emotionally energize far-right movements
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Journal of Information Technology and Politics. - 1933-1681 .- 1933-169X. ; In Press
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Digital media platforms have been implicated in the recent rise of far-right extremism. This study proposes that these platforms afford emotional processes that lie at the core of far-right movements. Drawing on Randall Collins’ interactional framework and the literature on cultural trauma, we investigate the emotional processes triggered by traumatic experiences within far-right online communities. As a case, we examine how the white supremacist community Stormfront responded to the 2008 election of Barack Obama, by analyzing the complete datasets of discussion on the forum through a combination of computational methods and qualitative analysis. Our findings suggest that the community functioned as a “emotional refuge”, where members collectively interpreted and transformed their emotional reactions, thereby shaping an emotionally energized collective with a focused target of collective action.
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| 10. |
- Törnberg, Petter, 1987, et al.
(författare)
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Inside a White Power echo chamber: Why fringe digital spaces are polarizing politics
- 2022
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Ingår i: New Media and Society. - : SAGE Publications. - 1461-4448 .- 1461-7315.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recent decades have seen a blurring of the line between extremist movements and mainstream politics, driven by rising sectarian polarization. This development has been linked to digital media, with suggestions that so-called echo chambers may drive political radicalization. To understand the social processes taking place inside such digital spaces, this article draws on Randall Collins and the Durkheimian tradition to develop a theory of discursive community formation. Empirically, we analyze 20years of discussion on the White Power forum Stormfront, employing natural language processing to study discursive evolution as members become socialized into the community. Our findings suggest that digital media provide space for conversational rituals that instill in people a sense of social membership and intersubjectivity, contained in the elaboration of a shared discourse, within which certain beliefs become sacred and unquestionable. This provides a potential social mechanism linking echo chambers to the rise of sectarian polarization.
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| 11. |
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| 12. |
- Törnberg, Petter, 1987, et al.
(författare)
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The limits of computation: A philosophical critique of contemporary Big Data research
- 2018
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Ingår i: Big data and Society. - : SAGE Publications. - 2053-9517. ; 5:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper reviews the contemporary discussion on the epistemological and ontological effects of Big Data within social science, observing an increased focus on relationality and complexity, and a tendency to naturalize social phenomena. The epistemic limits of this emerging computational paradigm are outlined through a comparison with the discussions in the early days of digitalization, when digital technology was primarily seen through the lens of dematerialization, and as part of the larger processes of “postmodernity”. Since then, the online landscape has become increasingly centralized, and the “liquidity” of dematerialized technology has come to empower online platforms in shaping the conditions for human behavior. This contrast between the contemporary epistemological currents and the previous philosophical discussions brings to the fore contradictions within the study of digital social life: While qualitative change has become increasingly dominant, the focus has gone towards quantitative methods; while the platforms have become empowered to shape social behavior, the focus has gone from social context to naturalizing social patterns; while meaning is increasingly contested and fragmented, the role of hermeneutics has diminished; while platforms have become power hubs pursuing their interests through sophisticated data manipulation, the data they provide is increasingly trusted to hold the keys to understanding social life. These contradictions, we argue, are partially the result of a lack of philosophical discussion on the nature of social reality in the digital era; only from a firm metatheoretical perspective can we avoid forgetting the reality of the system under study as we are affected by the powerful social life of Big Data.
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| 13. |
- Törnberg, Petter, 1987, et al.
(författare)
-
Using Complexity Theory Methods for Sociological Theory Development.
- 2011
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- During the last few decades the interest in Complexity Theory (CT) methods in sociology has increased, partly as a result of the increased complexity in sociologicaltheory and partly of that these methods have become more powerful and accessible. However, despite this increased interest, the application of CT-methods still holdsa peripheral existence within mainstream sociology. Based on a review of the contemporary discussion regarding computer-based modeling in sociology, it is arguedthat the reasons for this include a strong focus on the distinction between social and natural systems as well as a lack of connections from CT-models to existing theories.As an alternative to this, the application of more abstract models with the explicit purpose of theory development is suggested to complement traditional sociological methods. Ways of connecting models to theories to enable such theory development are proposed. This discussion is exemplified in a case study with the purpose of further developing the theoretical framework Multi-Level Perspective (MLP), which describes socio-technical transitions in society. The case study consists of two models. The first model illustrates how MLP can be connected to concepts within Dynamical Systems Theory and through this draw insights from research in other areas. The second model analyzes the result of consumer network structure on the strength of product lock-ins, finding that increased globalization may lead to stronger lock-ins, thus making a transition to sustainable products more difficult. Based on the conclusions in this report, it is suggested that integrating CTmethods into the sociological inquiry may provide fresh and deep insights and openup new areas of research.
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| 14. |
- Törnberg, Petter, 1987, et al.
(författare)
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Using Complexity Theory Methods for Sociological Theory Development. : With a Case Study on Socio-Technical Transitions
- 2011
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- During the last few decades the interest in Complexity Theory (CT) methods in sociology has increased, partly as a result of the increased complexity in sociological theory and partly of that these methods have become more powerful and accessible. However, despite this increased interest, the application of CT-methods still holds a peripheral existence within mainstream sociology. Based on a review of the contemporary discussion regarding computer-based modeling in sociology, it is argued that the reasons for this include a strong focus on the distinction between social and natural systems as well as a lack of connections from CT-models to existing theories. As an alternative to this, the application of more abstract models with the explicit purpose of theory development is suggested to complement traditional sociological methods. Ways of connecting models to theories to enable such theory development are proposed. This discussion is exemplified in a case study with the purpose of further developing the theoretical framework Multi-Level Perspective (MLP), which describes socio-technical transitions in society. The case study consists of two models. The first model illustrates how MLP can be connected to concepts within Dynamical Systems Theory and through this draw insights from research in other areas. The second model analyzes the result of consumer network structure on the strength of product lock-ins, finding that increased globalization may lead to stronger lock-ins, thus making a transition to sustainable products more difficult. Based on the conclusions in this report, it is suggested that integrating CTmethods into the sociological inquiry may provide fresh and deep insights and open up new areas of research.
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| 15. |
- Fredriksson, Magnus, 1970, et al.
(författare)
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Den kommunikativa blicken. En analys av principerna för svenska kommuners kommunikationsverksamheter
- 2018
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Antagandet om att ”allt kommunicerar” har fört med sig att organisationer i allt större utsträckning beaktar sin kommunikation när de organiserar och planerar sina verksamheter, när de fördelar resurser och ansvar och när de avgör vilka verksamhetsområden som ska prioriteras. Hur svenska kommunförvaltningar förhåller sig till detta vet vi inte så mycket om. Det finns ingen studie som erbjuder en heltäckande analys av svenska kommuners kommunikationsverksamheter och hur olika former av kommunikation ska förstås i förhållande till varandra. Syftet med rapporten är att erbjuda en sådan analys och den besvarar två frågor. Dels frågan om vilka principer det är som styr kommunikationsarbetet i svenska kommuner dels frågan om det finns några systematiska skillnader mellan kommuner i vilka principer de prioriterar. Utgångspunkten för analysen är att organisationers kommunikation, på samma sätt som andra verksamheter, styrs av en uppsättning generella principer. Med det menas att det finns förväntningar och föreställningar om hur, när, vem, vad och varför organisationer ska kommunicera och vilka resultat det går att förvänta sig om kommunikation hanteras på ett särskilt vis. Varje sådan princip tillskriver vissa former av kommunikation och därmed vissa aktiviteter, roller, tekniker och symboler större värde än andra vilket i sin tur innebär att en viss form av kommunikation ofta anses vara bäst i ett särskilt sammanhang. Undersökningen omfattar alla svenska kommuner och med hjälp av en automatiserad textanalys och en närläsning av kommunernas styrdokument för kommunikation går det att skilja ut sju principer; 1) att organisera och skapa strukturer för kommunikationsarbetet, 2) att positionera verksamheten i förhållande till andra kommuner, 3) att skapa och upprätthålla rutiner för att kunna larma informera och kommunicera i samband med kriser och extraordinära händelser, 4) att uniformera verksamheten för att försäkra sig om att kommunen framträder konsekvent och samstämmigt, 5) att interagera med intressenter för att på ett tidigt stadium fånga upp åsikter om verksamheten, 6) att med hjälp av webbplatser och andra digitala tjänster betjäna medborgare och andra intressenter och slutligen 7) interagera med journalister och andra medierepresentanter för att på så vis förmedla information till aktörer i omvärlden. De sju principerna återkommer i stort sett i alla kommuners dokument men det går att skilja ut två orienteringar; dels en verksamhetsorientering dels en omvärldsorientering. De verksamhetsorienterade kommunerna är fler (68%) och de prioriterar principerna om att förmedla, organisera och larma. Till skillnad från de omvärldsorienterade kommunerna (32%) som snarare vänder blicken utåt och prioriterar att interagera, uniformera och positionera. Resultaten ska förstås i ljuset av (åtminstone) två saker; dels tendensen till isomorfi – att organisationer som bedriver liknande verksamheter ofta tenderar att göra det på liknande sätt utifrån att det uppfattas som ett önskvärt, idealiskt eller moraliskt korrekt. Dels en ökande konkurrens mellan kommunerna och en allmänt utbredd företagisering av offentliga organisationer. I rapportens sista del diskuteras (de begränsade) möjligheterna för kommunerna att leva upp till idealen som principerna vilar på. Det finns påtagliga spänningar mellan generella normer och organisationsspecifika förutsättningar och mellan olika principer vilket gör att kommunerna kommer behöva hantera situationer där det finns motstridiga krav och varierande förväntningar på hur de ska kommunicera. På så vis kan vi förvänta oss att vissa principer får större utrymme än andra i det dagliga arbetet. Det betyder i sin tur att vi kan förvänta oss att kommuner utvecklar rutiner och tillvägagångssätt som innebär att vissa delar av kommunikationsarbetet anses vara viktigare och att det är prioriteringar som sannolikt präglas av kommunens huvudsakliga inriktning/orientering för kommunikationsarbetet.
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| 16. |
- Larsson, Bengt, 1966, et al.
(författare)
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Sectoral networks of transnational trade union cooperation in Europe
- 2021
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Ingår i: Economic and Industrial Democracy. - 0143-831X. ; 42:4, s. 1189-1209
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This network analysis of trade union cooperation in Europe uses survey data and interviews to map and analyze transnational cooperation networks in the metal, construction, transportation, and healthcare sectors. The study examines the extent to which sectoral and regional clustering tendencies exist in these networks and whether there are differences between the sectors with regard to structure, density, and central actors. The results show that networks of regular bilateral cooperation tend to stay within the sectors, and that there are tendencies toward regional clustering in all sectors. Unions in the Nordic and southern regions of Europe have a strong intraregional focus in bilateral cooperation, whereas unions in CEE and CWE countries have a greater share of interregional partners. Unions in the CWE region cluster at the core of all the networks, and German unions are the main brokers between other regions, which tend to cluster in more peripheral offshoots.
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| 17. |
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| 18. |
- Lundstedt, Måns, et al.
(författare)
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Den radikala högern i upplösning?
- 2023
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Ingår i: Fronesis. - 1404-2614. ; 1:76-77, s. 120-127
-
Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 19. |
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| 20. |
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| 21. |
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| 22. |
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| 23. |
- Törnberg, Anton, 1985
(författare)
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Abstractions on steroids: A critical realist approach to computer simulations
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour. - : Wiley. - 0021-8308 .- 1468-5914. ; 49:1, s. 127-143
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Computer simulations are increasingly used within various fields of the social sciences, including analytical sociology and computational social science. However,the method has yet to fully find its place within critical realism, generally regarded as reductionist and methodological individualist and thus inadequate to the task of grasping the full and enigmatic complexity of social life. This article contributes to the discussion by suggesting an alternative approach to computer simulations in the social realm. Instead of representing reality, simulations are seen as a way of boosting abstraction by enabling us to isolate and study the effects of emergent mechanisms. The need for such tools is growing more urgent in an age characterized by rapid change and global networks of causal interrelation. Hence there is a need not only for new tools to deal with causal complexity within critical realism, but also for a critical realist perspective to fill the meta‐theoretical vacuum on which the simulation approach is largely based. The approach developed here provides a challenge to the predominant ways in which simulations are utilized today, with increasingly sophisticated models aiming towards realistic representation on the basis of empirical data.
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| 24. |
- Törnberg, Anton, 1985
(författare)
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Combining transition studies and social movement theory: towards a new research agenda
- 2018
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Ingår i: Theory and Society. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0304-2421 .- 1573-7853. ; 47:3, s. 381-408
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article addresses two central-yet insufficiently explored-characteristics of some social movements: i.) abrupt and rapid social mobilizations leading to ii.) the construction of novel political processes and structures. The article takes a novel approach to these issues by combining social movement literature and the notion of free social spaces with transition studies, which focuses on large-scale socio-technical transitions. This theoretical integration highlights the co-evolution between free spaces and societal transitions, and it is based upon complexity-thinking, which is essential to deal with non-linear dynamics. A key insight is that to enable bottom-up societal transitions, radical social movements need to proactively develop solid alternatives to existing societal structures, to be ready once a window of opportunity opens. This theoretical approach is empirically illustrated using the APPO-movement in Mexico in 2006.
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| 25. |
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| 26. |
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| 27. |
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| 28. |
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| 29. |
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| 30. |
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| 31. |
- Törnberg, Anton, 1985, et al.
(författare)
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Local conditions and national context for anti-immigrant arson attacks: the case of Sweden in the 2000s
- 2020
-
Ingår i: ECPR.
-
Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This study aims to explain variation in radical right violence on the local level, through a comparison of Swedish municipalities. Specifically, our aim is to identify combinations of conditions that form pathways to the incidence of asylum housing attacks. Broader factors such as national level political opportunity structures and discursive opportunities on the national level have been proposed to explain change over time or between countries in the incidence of radical right violence. Complementing such findings, several publications have highlighted the importance of local level factors such as local history of radical right activities, sudden changes in demography, municipal political opportunities and grievances such as unemployment. A common way of studying this phenomenon is through probabilistic multivariate regression analyses. A weakness of such approaches is that they have difficulties capturing multiple pathways to a single outcome and complex interaction effects, such as when some factors are causally conditional upon other factors. In the present study we aim to capture such mechanisms, using tools from qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) on the case of arson attacks against refugee housing facilities in Swedish municipalities during the decade 2009-2018. We will pay attention to conditions on the local level as well as national level, but since we analyse a single national case, we focus on national level conditions that display traceable change over time. We use a dataset of arson attacks against Swedish asylum housing facilities, created from a combination of media sources and incident reports from the fire and rescue services.
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| 32. |
- Törnberg, Anton, 1985, et al.
(författare)
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Local Conditions for Anti-immigrant Violence: A Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) of Asylum Housing Attacks in Sweden
- 2023
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Ingår i: Terrorism and Political Violence. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0954-6553 .- 1556-1836. ; 35:6
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study uses a novel approach to identifying local contextual conditions conducive, alone or in combination to far-right political violence. The studied case is asylum housing attacks occurring in Sweden 2015-16. Using a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis of eighty-six Swedish municipalities, forty-two of which have experienced arson attacks against refugee housing facilities, we operationalize and test four hypotheses derived from the literature. These assumed the causal impact of (1) objective grievances, (2) mediated grievances combined with lack of political opportunities, (3) independent alternative media effects, and (4) broader far-right mobilization. In contrast to a number of previous studies, none of the three first hypotheses received support. No operationalization of objective grievances, such as influxes of immigrants, poverty, or unemployment distinguished the municipalities where attacks had occurred. Nor did the local level of discursive or political opportunities. Only one of our expected causal pathways-arson attacks as an extension of a broader local far-right mobilization in the context of a supportive local public opinion-was a sufficient condition for a large proportion of our positive cases.
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| 33. |
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| 34. |
- Törnberg, Anton, 1985
(författare)
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Prefigurative politics and social change: a typology drawing on transition studies
- 2021
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Ingår i: Distinktion : Scandinavian Journal of Social Theory. - 1600-910X. ; 22:1, s. 83-107
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recent years have seen a surge of interest in prefigurative politics, which refers to the political strategies that model a future society on a micro level and aim to instantiate radical social change in and through practice. While most previous studies have focused on defining the concept and categorizing various types of prefiguration, this paper contributes by investigating under what circumstances prefiguration leads to revolutionary social change. The paper takes an original approach to these issues by turning to transition studies and the socio-technical change literature. This field focuses on the technical equivalence of prefiguration: namely, the relationship between small-scale niche innovations and large-scale technological transitions. Through theoretical discussions and empirical illustrations, this paper presents a typology of five transition pathways through which prefigurative strategies may result in a range of social change outcomes from reformative to revolutionary transformation.
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| 35. |
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| 36. |
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| 37. |
- Törnberg, Anton, 1985
(författare)
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Resistance Matter(s): Resistance Studies and the Material Turn
- 2013
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Ingår i: Resistance studies magazine. - 1654-7063. ; 2013
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- After a period largely dominated by a bias on language, discourses and the social world, a material turn is slowly emerging in social theory, emphasizing the central role of materiality and material power. However, welcoming this new theoretical embrace of the social and the material, I argue that there exists a theoretical gap in the materiality literature when it comes to the concept of resistance. Few, if any, scholars have elaborated on what role material agency plays in practices of resistance. This also goes the other way around; resistance studies has been heavily influenced by the linguistic turn and is largely characterized by a preoccupation on immaterial cultural processes, generally neglecting how the material can act back and shape both social relations and practices of resistance. This article elaborates on how these fields can benefit from each other by sharing relevant insights and discusses what an increased focus on the material has to offer resistance studies.
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| 38. |
- Törnberg, Anton, 1985
(författare)
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Social mobilization 2.0?
- 2015
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Ingår i: Digital Development Debates. ; 15
-
Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 39. |
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| 40. |
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| 41. |
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| 42. |
- Törnberg, Anton, 1985
(författare)
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The discursive mechanisms of the radical right online: How Stormfront.org reacted to the elections of Obama and Trump : Untangling the grassroots of the extreme right online
- 2018
-
Ingår i: Sociologidagarna, Working group 4: Digital Sociology. Lund: 7-9 March 2018.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This study aims at disentangling the ideological grassroots of the extreme-right online. The data is collected by scraping Stormfront; the largest extreme-right forum in the world, consisting of 320 000 members and ranging back over 20 years in time. This forum is regarded as a dominant hub for extreme-right activists and groups from across the globe; a space for ideological debate, planning upcoming activities, recruiting new members, and open discussions about strategies and tactics. The paper investigates both the relational structure and the textual content of the forum. First, we use SNA to study interactional patterns within these online networks. Second, we use t ext mining and sentiment analysis to investigate prevailing discourses on the forum. This includes processes of identity formation, what groups that are targeted by the activists, and what strategies that are advocated. We also investigate discursive changes over time and the impact of external events such as the election of Trump. By combining these two par ts and using meta-d ata from the forum we also investigate whether there are certain “discursive communities” on the forum and how these are connected to each other. The paper contributes by shedding light on so far unexplored territory, providing a unique entrance to the kitchen-t able discussions of the extreme-right online.
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| 43. |
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| 44. |
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| 45. |
- Törnberg, Anton, 1985, et al.
(författare)
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Unveiling the radical right online Exploring framing and identity in an online anti-immigrant discussion group
- 2018
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Ingår i: Sociologisk Forskning. - : Sveriges Sociologförbud. - 0038-0342 .- 2002-066X. ; 55:2-3, s. 267-292
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Radical right online discussion groups have grown in importance in the Swedish political landscape, yet the dynamics of these groups are still poorly understood. Apart from their topical import, these groups provide a unique entrance to grassroots discourses of the radical right movement and the mechanisms for radical nationalist mobilization. In this paper, we present an analysis of the largest current anti-immigrant online discussion group in Sweden by using a combination of quantitative and qualitative content analysis. We argue that this type of social media group needs to be approached as both a "counterpublic" within a wider public sphere and as a "free social space" for social movements. The analysis reveals that the use of external links in the group reflects an active negotiation of frames that both confirm and contradict those of the group, thereby challenging a simplistic understanding of the so-called "echo chamber" dynamics. A form of collective identity can be discerned, mainly through the opposition to various outgroups and through an implicit form of nationalism expressed through the concern of "sacred objects" typically perceived to be under threat.
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| 46. |
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| 47. |
- Wahlström, Mattias, 1978, et al.
(författare)
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Discursive opportunities for right-wing political violence in the 21th century: a research agenda
- 2017
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Ingår i: Paper presented at the ECPR General Conference. Oslo: 6-9 September.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This paper outlines a theoretical and methodological argument developing the concept of discursive opportunities in social movement studies and ways to operationalize it in a society increasingly dominated by social media discourse. High-impact studies on the wave of right-wing and racist violence in the 1990s and early 2000s established that mass media discourse on immigrants and on previous violent incidents had significant impact on the prevalence of extreme-right violence. This link was captured by Koopmans and Olzak’s (2004) notion of discursive opportunities, i.e., that the discursive environment of political action can enable or limit the impact of political messages and affect tactical choices of political activists. However, this was before the dominance of online social networks and social media, which radically came to change the media landscape, and hence how discursive opportunities for political violence are formed. In relation to the case of arson attacks on refugee housing facilities in Sweden 2015-2016, we discuss how discursive opportunities can be studied as a combination of mass media and social media discourses that contextualize these attacks, and identify the different mechanisms through which social media can impact on the incidence of violence.
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| 48. |
- Wahlström, Mattias, 1978, et al.
(författare)
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Dynamics of violent and dehumanizing rhetoric in far-right social media
- 2021
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Ingår i: New Media & Society. - : SAGE Publications. - 1461-4448 .- 1461-7315. ; 23:11, s. 3290-3311
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article sheds light on mechanisms by which online social interactions contribute to instigating far-right political violence. It presents an analysis of how violence against ethnic and religious minorities is motivated and legitimized in social media, as well as the situational conditions for such violent rhetoric. Online violent rhetoric in a Swedish public far-right social media discussion group was studied using a combination of machine-learning tools and qualitative analysis. The analysis shows that violent rhetoric primarily occurs in the context of narratives about criminals and crimes with (imagined) immigrant perpetrators and often particularly vulnerable victims, linked to a social problem definition of a corrupt and failing state as well as the alleged need to deport immigrants. The use of dehumanizing and infrahumanizing expressions both legitimizes political violence and spurs negative emotions that may increase motivation for violent action.
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| 49. |
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| 50. |
- Wahlström, Mattias, 1978, et al.
(författare)
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Promotion of racist and anti-immigrant violence on social media
- 2020
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Ingår i: Research on Racism and Discrimination: Where Are We and Where Are We Heading? A Digital Conference Organized by the Swedish Research Council 15 October 2020.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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