From the Neighborhood to the Kremlin the Trajectories of Urban Conflict in Media Infrastructure

Introduction. The article analyzes the transformation of the nature of urban conflict in the context of deep mediatization and the dominance of social networks. It is social networks that redistribute influence among urban conflict actors, creating new opportunities for mobilization and competition for public attention. Methodology and sources. The empirical basis consists of the Geoinformational Database of Conflicts of the Novosibirsk Agglomeration (N = 127) a nd a c ontent a nalysis o f 3 ,070 mentions on social networks VKontakte and Telegram (Popsters service). Based on the data, we assume that competent actors possess information channels, publicity capital, access to a differentiated structure of public information, and control over media resources. In complex conflicts with high material or symbolic stakes, they apply a multichannel strategy. Results and discussion. The study describes the media infrastructure (VKontakte, Telegram) as a key resource for mobilizing citizens into conflict. The author identifies eight stages of information dissemination in the city's conflict agenda, which can be grouped into three categories according to the principle of source's institutionality. The study highlights vertical (connection with the federal agenda) and horizontal (consolidation of local communities) vectors of conflict escalation in the media. Social networks have transformed the nature of media infrastructure and urban conflict, becoming a mobilization resource. Conditions for conflicts to enter the federal agenda include: high regional ER, the presence of universal social discontent, conflicts related to the all-Russian agenda, ethnically marked/ethnic conflicts, and sociocultural conflicts. Conclusion. A redistribution of power can be observed in the media field of conflict: agents with «weak» positions (bloggers, activists) are «winning back» influence from institutional media. This became possible due to equal access to audience attention, trust, and engagement. The results are applicable to urban conflict management and the development of mechanisms for coordinating interests in the urban environment.

Authors: Zoya N. Otto

Direction: Sociology

Keywords: urban conflict, social networks, Novosibirsk agglomeration, media infrastructure, network mobilization, conflict management

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