Showing papers by "Darren Halpin published in 2022"

The Role of Novel Citizenship Norms in Signing and Sharing Online Petitions

Abstract: Ideas about what makes a ‘good citizen’ continue to evolve alongside the digitalisation of political participation. We examine these interrelated trends through an in-depth analysis of the normative basis for contemporary online petitioning. This article uses original survey data in Australia and Germany to confirm the emergence of distinctive ‘contribution’ citizenship norms which emphasise the importance of sharing content through networked communications infrastructures. We then examine the relationship between these novel citizenship norms and online petitioning, differentiating online petitioning along two dimensions of mode (signing versus sharing) and frequency. First, we find ‘contribution’ norms are more associated with sharing online petitions than signing them. Second, ‘contribution’ norms are more associated with high-frequency sharing and signing, as opposed to more casual instances of participation. In combination, these findings show that contribution norms are distinctively associated with more intensive forms of online petitioning (e.g. frequent sharing), while more casual forms (such as casual signing) are supported by a more diverse range of normative orientations. We conclude that the way citizens engage with online petitions reflects, in part, their normative orientation to contributing information towards networked communication infrastructures.

Organised Interests and the Courts: Non‐Party Access to the High Court of Australia Between 2012 and 2017

Abstract: Organised interests are a key component of Australian democratic life — they promise to connect society and economy to political institutions in ways that parties may not. The literature on Australian organised interests has focused primarily on connections to legislative and, to a lesser extent, administrative arenas. However, comparatively little attention has been given to the judicial arena. In this paper, we take a first look at attempts — successful and otherwise — by organised interests to attain access to the High Court of Australia. We focus on one key type of litigation strategy, being non-party intervention, which is the subject of significant research in international contexts. Although in the United States, access to the court for non-parties is more or less automatic, in other contexts like Australia, this is not the case. Over time in Australia, the High Court has become more open to applications from non-parties. We proceed to examine in detail the attempts to access — and levels of success — by non-parties in the High Court of Australia for the period 2012–17. We conclude with a research agenda that will explore the judicial arena as a strategy for organised interest to exert their influence.