Abstract

This commentary uses Pavan's article as a spring board to pose questions on the relational dynamics between actors in online networks and their role in political mobilization and action. While accepting Pavan's argument on the importance of these relational dynamics, the commentary asks whether they are determined by factors outside the technology and its potential and dynamics, while they may also be related to the kind of online action studied: an online campaign is different to, say, protests. If that is the case, the question is to find a way to incorporate the various pre-existing relationships between actors, as well as the various political goals sought by different movements while also acknowledging the power of the technology to introduce shifts in the pre-existing dynamics and lead to unexpected outcomes.