1. How do social media-driven protest movements in Indonesia, Thailand, and Myanmar differ from previous student and youth movements?
Social media-driven protest movements in Indonesia, Thailand, and Myanmar differ from previous student and youth movements in their digitally mediated, decentralized, and diverse nature. These movements are pioneered by a new generation of activist youth who forge transnational links and create new protest assemblages across the region. The #MilkTeaAlliance exemplifies this trend, as distinct protests in various countries are conjoined through extended solidarity and affinity ties in a common struggle against authoritarianism. These movements are characterized by connectivity, heterogeneity, multiplicity, and 'unbreakable' expansion, allowing for fluid participation of various activist and non-activist groups and the inclusion of various issues and demands in the protest. However, they face challenges such as physical repression and new modes of cyberrepression, which impact their capacities for online agitation and mobilization. Despite these challenges, the resistance continues, with activists making creative uses of digital media and technologies to cultivate their resistance online, at the grassroots level, or in the cultural sphere. The longer-term implication is that this generation will remain alienated and continue to express their struggle in novel and unpredictable ways.
read more