Protesting Macedonians Demand Government’s Resignation, Research Paper Example

The media coverage of the protests in the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia on the 17^th of May, 2015 is a a classical example of symbolic convergence theory. Arguably, what makes the event and the coverage of the event an especially intriguing example of this communication theory is that the fundamental concepts of symbolic convergence theory are operative not only on one, but two levels. On the first level, concepts from symbolic convergence theory can explain the actions of the protestors themselves. On the second level, however, how the protests were interpreted by Western media and American media utilize the same symbols as the protestors, appropriating the protest into an event which reflects American and European Union foreign policy in the region.

In the coverage of the event by the New York Times on May 17, 2015, provided by the Associated Press wire service, the key features of symbolic convergence are explicit. The story itself begins with the concept of a “dramatizing message” that establishes a “fantasy” and “fantasy chain” (Dainton & Zelley, 2015, p. 148): “Tens of thousands of protesters gathered Sunday in the center of the Macedonian capital to demand the resignation of conservative Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.” (Associated Press, 2015)

In so far as the concept of dramatizing message “references events that have happened in the past or that are anticipated for the future” (Dainton & Zelley, 2015, p. 148) and “include some level of emotional revelation” (Dainton & Zelley, 2015, p. 148), the opening line of the news story satisfies this criteria, as “tends of thousands of protesters” are framed in opposition to the “conservative” President. The form of the story, in other words, refers back to in the reader’s mind to other events of similar protests, such as the color revolution phenomenon, where popular protests seeking reform demand the removal of a »conservative« president who is explicitly against reform. Accordingly, the events in Macedonia are immediately placed by the reader alongside other such protest events, such as the Arab Spring phenomenon. By communicating the event in this way, the story accordingly also points towards the future: it indicates the inevitable success of this latest instance of a “color revolution” or “Arab Spring”, which will overthrow an oppressive political figure.

This establishes the crucial concept which makes the story an example of symbolic convergence theory: the establishing of a fantasy chain. The fantasy chain “transforms the group from a collection of individuals to an identifiable group with a group consciousness.” (Dainton & Zelley, 2015) Accordingly, the protestors are now viewed as the mass populace of Macedonian citizens, seeking reforms against a “conservative” president and thus, in so far as the latter is opposed to the former, which represent the masses, the fantasy chain produced creates the effect of a popular democratic uprising against the current Macedonian president. Those who read the New York Times and live in the United States and the European may thus interpret these protests from their own belongingness to the fantasy chain: namely, if the reader believes that he or she is a part of the democratic “free world”, then he or she will see these protests as an attempts by the Macedonian protestors to join this same world. The fantasy chain thus not only exists within the news story itself, but also affects the reader.

Pro-opposition activists have also used social media on the basis of symbolic convergence theory. The twitter account of Vladimir Petreski attempts to use images of the current protests to create a fantasy chain which links the events in Macedonia to other previous “color revolutions.” This tweet https://twitter.com/VPetreski/status/600721178081271808portrays the protests as consisting of “great music. Lots of fun”, emphasizing the democratic, peaceful natures of the protest. At the same time, he emphasizes that the protests have a political message, as the aim is the resignation of the democratically elected government. A significant geopolitical message which will have serious effects for the future of FYROM is thus presented in a packaging of harmless fun, which endeavors to create the fantasy image of the protests as an opposition to the oppressive and “conservative” regime.

The foundation of symbolic convergence theory is to understand “two aspects of group communication: the creation of a group identity and the ways group identity influences norms for behavior.” (Dainton & Zelley, 2008, p. 148) In both examples, a group identity for the protestors is being formed, that of a “democratic” movement opposed to a “conservative” president, who will eventually be toppled by the mass of the people. Furthermore, explicit references to other similar movements, such as the color revolution phenomena, are also stressed through concepts such as a dramatizing message and the creation of fantasy chains, according to which “This shared consciousness forms the basis for mobilizing participants toward action.” (Dainton & Zelley, 2015, p. 148) Important to note, however, is the way in which these same concepts also affect those opposed to the protests. Namely, many color revolutions and Arab springs have occurred in the past, leading to geopolitical disasters such as the war in Ukraine and the power vacuum in the Middle East. New media users are more sensitive to how these color revolution tactics of apparent popular movements are being manipulated. For example, the New York Times story notes only towards the end of its article that a pro-government -protest will be scheduled the next day – this counter-protest was not covered in the New York Times. Furthermore, a search under the terms “Macedonia democracy” in Twitter, does not reveal a majority of pro-protest and thus pro-Western tweets, but the opposite: concerns that what is happening in Macedonia is being manipulated for Western advantage, as with previous “color revolutions” (e.g., Murphy 2015) The Macedonian events namely fall within the broader color revolution tactic, created by the CIA operative Gene Sharp: “one feature of Sharp’s is in its manipulative use of vague and undefined terms such as ‘Democracy’, ‘Dictatorship’, and ‘Freedom’.  The tactic relies on a broader psychological operation (psy-op) of using mass media (and before this, Radio Free Europe, et al) to introduce these terms into popular consciousness as relating to ‘the good’….. The meanings become notional, inferred, memetic, and simplistic in the Orwellian sense. Once the ‘meme’ of ‘Freedom and Democracy’ takes hold on the household level in the targeted nation-state or region as ‘the good’, participants are imbued with the sense of both mission and moral superiority in their activities.” (Flores, 2014) Symbolic convergence theory provides another sound conceptual framework with which to understand how such protest movements are created around the fantasy of the group and manipulations of the fantasy chain, as is the case with the recent Macedonian protests.

References

Associated Press. (2015). “Protesting Macedonians Demand Government’s Resignation.” The New York Times. May 17. Retrieved May 19, 2015 http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/05/17/world/europe/ap-eu-macedonia-protests.html

Dainton, M. & Zelley, E.D. (2015). Applying Communication Theory for Professional Life: A Practical Introduction. New York: SAGE Publications.

Flores, J. (2013). Gene Sharp: From Berlin Wall to Arab Spring or The Politics of Counter-Revolution. Institute for Syncretic Studies. Retrieved May 17, 2015 http://syncreticstudies.com/2013/03/03/gene-sharp-from-berlin-wall-to-arab-spring-or-the-politics-of-counter-revolution/

Murphy, G. (2015). Macedonia Unrest: West Giving Balkan Country Lesson in ‘Democracy’ (Tweet) Retrieved May 19, 2015 https://twitter.com/search?q=macedonia%20democracy&src=typd

Petrevski, V. (2015). #Macedonia mini #Maidan. Now. Great music. Lot of fun. But, nobody forgets why are they here – RESIGNATIONS NOW! (Tweet). Retrieved May 19, 2015 https://twitter.com/VPetreski/status/600721178081271808