Glendon School of Translation

This paper explores the notion of digital non-participation as a form of mediated political action rather than as mere passivity. We generally conceive of participation in a positive sense, as a means for empowerment and a condition for democracy. However, participation is not the only way to achieve political goals in the digital sphere, and can be hampered by the “dark sides” of participatory media, such as surveillance or disempowering forms of interaction. In fact, practices aimed at abandoning or blocking participatory platforms can be seen as politically significant and relevant. We propose here to conceptualize these activities by developing a framework that includes both participation and non-participation. Focusing on the political dimensions of digital practices, we draw four categories: active participation, passive participation, active non-participation, and passive non-participation. This is not intended as a conclusive classification, but rather as a conceptual tool to understand the relational nature of participation and non-participation through digital media. The evolution of the technologies and practices that compose the digital sphere forces us to reconsider the concept of political participation itself.

Les transformations économiques et culturelles liées à la diffusion des technologies de l’information et de la communication (TIC) font apparaître un nouveau type de militance au sein du mouvement communautaire québécois. Ces nouveaux militants s’adonnent à des pratiques informatiques comme la programmation de logiciels libres ou la conception de dispositifs techniques – par exemple, l’accès à Internet haut débit libre et gratuit dans des cafés de Montréal – afin de favoriser une appropriation démocratique des technologies. Nous les appelons les militants du code. Ce livre s’intéresse aux idées et pratiques nouvelles suggérées par ces activistes de la technique. Il interroge le renouvellement possible des formes de l'action communautaire québécoise à l'ère du numérique.