This research investigates the strategic use of protest imagery on social media by movement parties, bridging the gap between protest and institutional politics. We apply a mixed-methods analysis of 9584 Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram image posts by seven movement parties between 2015 and 2021. We find that protest images frequently serve to amplify movement grievances. Yet, parties’ involvement with contentious protest forms undergoes temporal shifts, influenced mainly by their evolving positions within the polity. Moreover, parties’ engagement with protest images differs by country and ideological leaning. Movement parties on the Right express a conflictual position between supporting and delegitimizing different protests. Conversely, Left-leaning counterparts tend to support protest, yet veer toward deradicalization and emphasizing symbolism over disruptive tactics, once they become more institutionalized. This research highlights the intricate relationship between movement parties, protest, and visual narratives on social media, in light of the interplay between movements and institutional politics.

中文翻译：

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运动政党社交媒体传播中的抗议图像

这项研究调查了运动政党在社交媒体上战略性地使用抗议图像，弥合了抗议与制度政治之间的差距。我们对 2015 年至 2021 年间七个运动政党发布的 9584 张 Facebook、Twitter 和 Instagram 图片帖子进行了混合方法分析。我们发现抗议图片经常会放大运动的不满情绪。然而，政党参与有争议的抗议形式会经历时间变化，主要受到其在政体中不断变化的地位的影响。此外，政党对抗议图像的参与因国家和意识形态倾向而异。右翼运动政党表达了支持和取消不同抗议活动合法性之间的冲突立场。相反，左倾同行倾向于支持抗议，但一旦变得更加制度化，就会转向去激进化并强调象征主义而不是破坏性策略。鉴于运动与制度政治之间的相互作用，这项研究强调了运动政党、抗议和社交媒体上的视觉叙事之间错综复杂的关系。