Recognition for resistance: Gifting,social media,and the politics of reciprocity in South Korean energy activism

Abstract

This article argues for adopting the theoretical lens of gift exchange and reciprocity into the study of social movements and social media in an attempt to widen the horizon of the field of protest and media beyond its technological orientation. This lens invites us to see how protesters can build a movement strategically through the practice of gifting and the principle of reciprocity, and how such practices intersect with socially situated usages of digital media technologies to mediate and facilitate the politics of reciprocity. Based on an ethnographic analysis of energy activism in South Korea, the study suggests four necessary conditions for movement-building through culturally and technologically mediated forms of gift and reciprocity: pursuit of inclusive and open-ended alliances, prohibition of negative exchange, commitment to mutual interest aligned with shared movement goals, and the maintenance of voluntary and creative participation in gift exchange.