The History of the Transformation of Internet Activism in Belarus (on the Example of Political Protests of 2020—2021)

The article examines the problem of political participation in the digital environment on the example of protest activity observing in Belarus. It is shown that modern Internet technologies make it easy to combine new forms of civic activism with offline practices through social media and Telegram channels. It is argued that social networks and Internet activism in general indirectly form the political agenda and are significant factors in the creation of public reflection on political processes. New forms of civil interaction have appeared in digital reality, which were impossible without online technologies, and before the surge of protest activity in the post-Soviet space were considered insignificant quasi-political participation of the minority. Whole communicative autonomous systems created in social networks and messenger applications allow political activity bypassing traditional rules and frameworks, which, according to the author, is nothing more than a qualitative transformation and complication of political participation, both structurally and in scale. The Belarusian format of the protest showed that in the current conditions the success of a political campaign may not be due to clear coordination and competent management emanating from the core of protest. Analyzing political cases, it is concluded that modern protest practices, decentralized formed in the network, in an offline manifestation are very mobile and do not require significant expenditure of forces and resources. In conclusion, the author concludes that political participation in Belarus, conditioned by Internet resources and advanced technologies, from 2020 to 2021 acquired the features of a conventional active opposition political movement, although historically, political absenteeism prevailed in the country's civil society. Thus, the events in Belarus under consideration are unique and are a sign of more global modern transformations of politics

Media studies · Opposition (politics · Political communication · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Social media · Social movement · Sociology · The Internet · Computer Science · Law · Security, Politics, and Digital Transformation · Social and Behavioral Studies · Sociopolitical Dynamics in Russia