New forms of networked action and informal collaboration are challenging traditional notions of civil society. Based on the proliferation of new technologies, the spread of trans-border delocalised communities, and the increasing disillusionment with traditional forms of organisation, civic action is becoming increasingly flexible, temporary and elusive. This type of non-traditionally organised collective action often stays below the radar of public discourse, unless it is propelled to the spotlight because of international political developments such as the WikiLeaks case (and the related actions by the cyber-activist network Anonymous) and the mass protests in Northern Africa (and the role of social networking tools in these uprisings). Furthermore, with non-governmental organisations serving as proxy for including civil society''s voice in policy debate, new forms of networked action do not have a space in governance, although they embody clear-cut policy preferences and visions of how cyberspace should be regulated. Nevertheless, such groups do play a crucial role in building the digital backbone of contemporary social movements, enabling innovative forms of organizing and protest typical of the digital age. In this paper, we will characterize online networked action as an emerging form of organized civil society, focusing on the realm of cyberactivists building and using online infrastructure for collective political action, such as grassroots tech groups, Anonymous, and WikiLeaks-related activities. In particular, we will look at the following: 1) Organisational forms: We will analyze aspects of individualization, temporality and elusiveness; democratic qualities; understandings of representation and accountability; and the political objectives and ideologies enshrined in organizational forms. 2) Repertoires of action and engagement with governance processes and institutions: We will present a model that distinguishes between an ''inside'', ''outside'' and ''beyond'' approach towards 3) Policy: We will discuss the incompatibility between current multi-stakeholder governance and new forms of civil society organising, but also policy initiatives that have emerged from cyberactivism, such as the European campaign against data retention and the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative. Research for this paper is based on interviews with cyberactivists.
