Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides a critical analysis of the developments of digital activism since the 1990s. It examines the praxis of electronic protest by focusing on the discourses and narratives provided by the activists and artists involved. The study covers the work of many activist groups, including Critical Art Ensemble, Electronic Disturbance Theater and the electrohippies, as well as Anonymous, the now (in)famous group of activists and hackers in operation since the 2000s. The book explores many stories about technology and digital action. It then explores in more detail Critical Art Ensemble's (CAE) initial rationale for the relocation of political dissent. The book then examines the narratives that have established cyberspace as the new stage of social and political actions. It then explains the discursive influence of seminal texts such as Barlow's Declaration of Independence of Cyberspaceand CAE's The Electronic Disturbance.