Max Halupka

Clicktivism: A Systematic Heuristic

This article argues that clicktivism is a legitimate political act. It emphasizes that such acts, through a recurrent negative discourse, have been marginalized. As a result, new modes of participation that draw upon the simplification of social connectivity have largely been ignored in the mainstream Political Science literature. In addressing this issue, the article develops a heuristic that identifies seven dimensions (or characteristics) of clicktivism. This new heuristic will allow for the analysis of clicktivism as a form of civic engagement separate from digital activism more broadly. Subsequently, the article applies the heuristic to several popular forms of clicktivism, including social buttons and the creation of memes, demonstrating both its utility and flexibility.

The rise of information activism: how to bridge dualisms and reconceptualise political participation

ABSTRACT While conventional wisdom sees politics as involving collective action in the political arena, some contemporary approaches focus on connective action beyond the political arena. Crucially, both treat the distinction between arena and process definitions of politics, and relatedly between collective and connective, as dualisms. This paper looks to reconceptualise political participation by arguing that these two dualisms should be treated as dualities. In doing so, it posits a new form of political participation, ‘information activism’ and explores it in practice by drawing on survey data from the 2013 political protests in Turkey.

Complacent young citizens or cross-generational solidarity? An analysis of Australian attitudes to democratic politics

ABSTRACT Negativity towards mainstream politics is at an all-time high, with young people often targeted as the issue. However, are young people really to blame for political malaise? This article seeks to make sense of contemporary debate about political disenchantment in Australia using a cluster analysis to compare levels of complacency across generational cohorts. In this, we find no evidence to support the idea that Australians of any age cohort are complacent about their democracy. Although, there is some evidence of attitudinal differences between cohorts, criticisms of the practice of politics are also widely shared. Moreover, a majority of citizens appear to favour a mix of reforms combining mechanisms to open-up representative politics with opportunities for more direct intervention. To this end, we rebuke the narrative of a specific apathetic or disconnected Australian age cohort.

Two Cheers for Richards and Smith: Beyond Anti-Politics?

In a recent issue of The Political Quarterly, Richards and Smith critiqued Flinders’ work on anti-politics, suggesting that there needs to be much more focus on supply-side explanations and recognising that much of the problem lies with politicians, contra Flinders. Here, we argue instead that it is crucial to recognise how supply-side and demand side explanations interact. For us, politicians need to be more responsive to citizens, but, at the same time, citizens need to recognise problems of contemporary governing. Overall, much is changing in the way in which citizens engage and it is crucial that these changes are understood.

The legitimisation of clicktivism

ABSTRACT Is clicking ‘Like’ on Facebook a legitimate form of political participation? Is changing your profile picture or sharing an online article politically meaningful? It is undeniable that such actions can be politically-themed, but whether they amount to what we term ‘political participation’ remains contentious. This article explores the legitimacy of clicktivism as a political act, arguing that legitimacy be understood as multifaceted. To this end, the paper develops a series of lenses by which to explore the theoretical boundaries of these emerging actions. These are: the adherence of the action to tradition avenues; the acceptance of the action, and belief in that action; and, the intentionality of the action, and the context in which it is situated.

Contentious connective action: a new kind of life-political association for problematizing how expert systems operate

ABSTRACT Neoliberalism and populism both challenge the idea that democratic politics is of and by ‘the people.’ Neoliberalism suggests technocracy as the way ahead for nudging laypeople to do the right things. Populism appeals to the morality of an exceptional leader required for tumbling ‘the system’ and make the home of ‘We the People’ whole again. Both positions consider laypeople like clay to be formed in their own image. The logic of contentious connective action is a direct response to this political degradation of the layactor. Without laypeople being able chronically to problematize how things are done by expert systems, there can be no real democracy. Hence, it is about time we bring the lifeworld with its capable and knowledgeable laypeople back into the fold. Technological development has made it possible for the lifeworld to attain global and not just local significance. Its spontaneous activities in local time-space can now connect globally, enabling worldwide demonstrations in the name of ‘we the 99%.’

New media & public activism

John Michael Roberts’ New media & public activism provides an important, and perhaps long-overdue, look at the strenuous relationship between the dominant financial neoliberal capitalist ideology a...

What Anonymous can tell us about the relationship between virtual community structure and participatory form

ABSTRACT As a decentralised virtual community, Anonymous has been characterised by its oppositional tendencies. Helped by a collective persona and horizontal management structure, Anonymous has facilitated a myriad of differentiated agenda. However, we can observe a distinct change in its participatory form over time. So, while Anonymous, more broadly, functions as a virtual community, its means of engagement has shifted from a social movement to a decentralised cell network. This article explores the relationship between these changes, and its evolution as a virtual community. Drawing upon Iriberri and Leroy’s [(2009) “A Life-Cycle Perspective on Online Community Success.” ACM Computing Surveys (CSUR) 41 (2): 1–29] life cycle framework, the article maps Anonymous’ development and identifies the structural changes that have led to this transformation in its modes of participation.

The Church of Scientology: Legitimacy through Perception Management

In 1967 the Church of Scientologys tax-exempt status was revoked on the basis that it failed to meet the criteria outlined in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service. Between its loss, and eventual reacquisition in 1993, the Church of Scientology employed a number of political based tactics in an attempt to legitimize itself to the public sector. This article explores these tactics in relation to the religions use of perception management. The article argues that the processes of both legal recognition and legitimization draw upon each other in a new faiths transition to mainstream theology. In this, the Church employed perception management in attempt to influence both processes. In exploring this, the paper contributes to our understanding of role that public legitimacy plays in a new faiths development.