This study has examined the implications of the internet for the IPOB
movement, focusing on the extent to which it has empowered the movement to
engage in collective action mobilisation, enhance identity construction, framing
and discourses for an independent Biafran state against multiple forms of state
repressions. The thesis adopted a flexible approach that incorporated three level analysis including a macro-level analysis, which looked at the socio political and institutional environment; a meso-level, which examined the
organisational infrastructure; and a micro-level exploring how the social
movement made sense of their reality. The thesis addresses the debate
between technology and society, and between the agency and political
opportunity structures in Nigeria. It discussed the radical and agnostic
democratic potential of the internet for African social movements and the
dialectic between Biafra activism and the socio-political rootedness of Nigerian
democracy. This approach allowed for providing analogies and new perspectives from the research and interpreting implications of human action.
The thesis has found inconsistent, sometimes contradicting, data on the
implication of internet technology for the IPOB movement. While there is some
clear and robust evidence suggesting that new media technology has enhanced
the movement's capabilities to organise, coordinate and mobilise for Biafran
cause on many levels. The study reveals some severe limitations in the
appropriation of internet technology in IPOB’s collective action objectives. The
implication of the findings is discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BRADFORD/oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/19130 |
| Date | January 2019 |
| Creators | Nwofe, Emmanuel S. |
| Contributors | Goodall, Mark D., Reeve, Carlton, Thornton, Karen D. |
| Publisher | University of Bradford, School of Media, Design and Technology, Faculty of Engineering and Informatics |
| Source Sets | Bradford Scholars |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, doctoral, PhD |
| Rights | <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />The University of Bradford theses are licenced under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Licence</a>. |
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