Cultural Context Shaping the Appropriation of Social Media in Protest Politics: Comparing Major Civic Demonstrations in the United States and Cabo Verde

Abstract

Grassroots movements and mass protests have historically served as foundational forces shaping global political landscapes. A growing body of research agrees that digital platforms have profoundly reshaped contemporary activism and the mobilization of collective efforts. Yet scholarly conclusions remain divided and contradictory about social media’s role in civic mobilization, debating whether it merely amplifies existing dynamics or introduces a transformative impact on how dissent is organized and sustained. Furthermore, comparative empirical studies are strikingly scarce across both Western and Global South democracies, with democratic Sub-Saharan Africa representing a critical blind spot. In these regions, minimal insight exists into the cultural and structural drivers of protests, their strategic framing, organizational logics, and tactical outcomes—leaving gaps in understanding how collective action succeeds or falters in distinct sociopolitical contexts. This study contributes to the research on how culture influences the use of new media in social activism and democratic civic protest. Comparing some of the largest protests in Cabo Verde and the United States suggests the need to reconsider the full impact of the cultural shift in the intersection of social media and politics when mobilizing for collective action. Specifically, the strategic framing of protests based on national identity narratives challenged the existing social and racial inequality in both countries by replacing memories of painful pasts with a sense of legal entitlement.