Papers by Max Halupka
In a recent issue of The Political Quarterly, Richards and Smith critiqued Flinders’ work on anti... more 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.
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While conventional wisdom sees politics as involving collective action in the political arena, so... more 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.
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Are younger generations apathetic about politics, combining complacency with self-absorption, and... more Are younger generations apathetic about politics, combining complacency with self-absorption, and so threatening the future of Australian democracy? One of the strongest findings from decades of research is that what citizens do politically in their early years tends to set the trend for their engagement with politics in the future. So it matters that we understand how younger generations are engaging with democratic politics and how their orientation stands in relation to older generations. Our findings, from carefully conducted survey work and analysis, challenge negative stereotypes of the younger generations and give grounds for optimism because they show that within the younger generations are citizens with the enthusiasm and capacity to change the direction of Australian politics. Far from being an anchor dragging the ship of Australian democracy to a standstill and becalming processes of democratic renewal, the younger generations, if given the opportunity, can help enrich the quality of Australian democracy.
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This article argues that clicktivism is a legitimate political act. It emphasizes that such acts,... more 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.
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In 1967 the Church of Scientology's tax-exempt status was revoked on the basis that it failed to ... more In 1967 the Church of Scientology's 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 religion's use of perception management. The article argues that the processes of both legal recognition and legitimization draw upon each other in a new faith's 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 faith's development.
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The internet has provided individuals alienated from the democratic system with a new means for p... more The internet has provided individuals alienated from the democratic system with a new means for political participation. Such online engagement takes the form of cyberactivism or e-activism. This thesis contributes to the wider academic understanding of cyberactivism through an analysis of the decentralised virtual community, Anonymous. Anonymous possesses a number of characteristics which serve to differentiate it from similar activist communities: a collective identity, anonymity in interaction, no registration process, no overarching hierarchy or authoritative body, horizontal communications, and a memetic cultural base. The thesis presents the first scholarly conceptualisation of Anonymous’s development, a significant element in contextualising the community’s political behaviour. Ultimately the thesis argues that Anonymous engages politically by exhibiting and facilitating multiple political forms. When analysed in combination which the relevant literature, the research points to a distinct relationship between Anonymous’s participant base and the corresponding political approach.
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The article presents an analysis of the role that external forces play in the maintenance of sove... more The article presents an analysis of the role that external forces play in the maintenance of sovereignty in Warlord states. We focus on the strategies enacted by various warlords in Africa, specifically in Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Liberia. Latham’s concept of ‘transterritorial deployments’ underpins the article’s analysis of African state sovereignty, leading us to argue that in order to maintain sovereignty, rulers of warlord states come to rely upon forms of transterritorial deployment. In this, sovereignty is maintained through a combination of three processes: the auctioning off of state resources, the employment of external actors to fill state roles, and the development of foreign patrimonial networks. This argument provides important insight into local/global interactions and the manner in which they affect perceptions of sovereignty. Moreover, the article highlights the roles that external entities can enact in shaping forms of authority and governance in Africa.
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This research was sponsored by the ANZSOG Institute for Governance, at the University of Canberra... more This research was sponsored by the ANZSOG Institute for Governance, at the University of Canberra and six Australian Commonwealth departments, as part of a broader project that was launched in 2010 entitled ‘Celebrating the Contribution of Women to Public Sector Excellence’. Members of the Institute were concerned about patterns identified in the data on the representation of women in the senior echelons of the public service in Australia. We therefore decided to establish both a Canberra-based reference group and an overseas reference group to investigate these patterns. This led to the interrogation of the different dimensions of the following observation – we all know that the principle characteristics of leadership – wisdom, courage and vision – are not gender traits. So, why then, has leadership traditionally been a male domain? Does gender change the focus or style of leadership? And should it? Or has an unconscious bias in the workplace encouraged women to adopt a male model of leadership? Is any difference real, or perceived? And what has gender stereotyping got to do with it?
The project commenced with several high profile public events in Canberra at which notable senior women told stories about their journeys to the top, as well as identifying the barriers they confronted and the coping mechanisms that they developed to navigate around them. The panellists at these events included: the Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC, Governor-General of Australia; Katy Gallagher MLA; Virginia Haussegger; Wendy McCarthy AO; Roxanne Missingham; Christine Nixon APM; Lisa Paul AO PSM; Tu Pham PSM; and, Natasha Stott Despoja AM.
It is noteworthy that, most of our high performing women had been counselled at some time to be more ‘male’ in their approach, if they were to gain more respect and be more effective in their leadership roles. Overwhelmingly, they saw that it was preferable to display leadership qualities based on personal authenticity and integrity; although this was not easy. They all viewed the development of personal support networks as critical to their success in coping with the “male-streamed” culture they experienced.
After a series of these events, in the absence of primary research findings to reinforce the emerging perceptions of a relatively small sample of women elites, the Reference Group decided that it would be valuable to investigate a broader set of perceptions of senior public servants. In particular, the Reference group sought to identify which barriers appear to impede women’s progress through to the senior ranks of the APS i.e. the Senior Executive Service (SES). This is the subject of this report.
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Conference Presentations by Max Halupka
Six months into the government of Tony Abbott, citizens gathered in cities all across Australia t... more Six months into the government of Tony Abbott, citizens gathered in cities all across Australia to protest the government under the heading of the “March in March.” More than 100,000 people protested at one of 20 demonstration sites around Australia over the weekend of March 15-16, 2014 (Maley 2014). Australia’s March in March demonstration was remarkable for a number of reasons. First, there was no single issue unifying Australians to participate. Concerns included: cuts to health care and various social services; cuts to education; and Australia’s climate and asylum seeker policies. Second, it was not organized by any of Australia’s principal mobilizing organizations as Australia’s political parties, unions, and even the activist organization, GetUp! stayed clear (Price 2014). The organizer behind the March in March, Craig Batty, is not a member of any political party and had never been an activist before that point. Finally, Australia is not known for its protest culture. Survey research shows that the percentage of Australians who have participated in a protest or demonstration ever in their lives remains in the single digits (Martin 2012) despite the fact that over 60% of Australians claim they would be willing to engage in protests if a matter arose (Vromen 2012). Australia is not the most favorable environment for the coupling of protest movements with broadcast media outlets or centers of decision making. Indeed, on the whole, broadcast media paid little attention to the demonstrations, with what was being largely dismissive (Dunlop 2014).
The March in March was not a formal organization with members. Rather, it served as an organizational thematic under which persons mobilized on the streets and online in opposition to the government. While the number of people protesting on the streets was impressive, it was the tweets and Facebook posts which seemingly drove them to engage, and in this, share their messages. Despite the relatively low levels of street level protest, Australians have shown a high level of interest in issue groups and online activism (Vromen 2011, 2012). The question this paper poses is, to what extent did the March in March gain traction on political debate in Australia, in the absence of a single issue binding participants, without the support of social movement organizations, and in a society that is not predisposed to formal protest participation. We look at this question in terms of the movement’s distillation of issues through contemporary approaches to political participation, and the uptake of those issues by Australian media.
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"It is commonly observed that in Western Democracies, the ‘youth’ have largely abandoned traditio... more "It is commonly observed that in Western Democracies, the ‘youth’ have largely abandoned traditional forms of civic and political participation, and have sought new means by which to engage in politics. The development of collaborative Web 2.0 applications and the proliferation of affordable internet capable technologies (e.g. smart phones) have helped the internet emerge as a driving force in youth political engagement. A growing trend in acts of micro-political participation, often classified as either ‘clicktivism’ or ‘slacktivisim’, has emerged as the predominant means of online engagement. Such acts of clicktivism are akin to petitions, yet they require very little effort on behalf of the individual. In the past internet activism has demonstrated its effectiveness in inciting change, yet there is limited evidence to suggest that clicktivism can achieve similar outcomes.
The article explores both the success and failure of clicktivism as a means of civic and political participation. It argues that the popularity of clicktivism derives from a narrative based perception of its effectiveness to incite political change. This perception stems primarily from two sources, first, the significance afforded such acts by the global media, and second, the precedent set by the relative success of top-down e-activist organisations. In exploring this perception, the article discusses the potential problems that may arise with a realisation of the ineffectiveness of such political acts. Specifically, it outlines the potential for further disengagement from formal structures, and an impending apathy towards such informal avenues. "
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"This paper will investigate the utilisation of direct democracy within the decentralised virtual... more "This paper will investigate the utilisation of direct democracy within the decentralised virtual community Anonymous, and in particular, their ability to function as a coherent political actor while adhering to their self enforced anonymity based persona. Anonymous is best understood as a virtual embodiment of the hacker ethos; orchestrating activist based operations which adhere to their internal majority opinion. Recently, Anonymous has been involved in providing support for the Middle Eastern democracy protests and orchestrating attacks on HBGary Federal and Sony Corporation.
We argue that meritocracy and direct democracy form the base for their decision making process. This, in itself, derives from their unique community characteristics which draw upon an anti- individualistic ideology. Anonymous functions as a leaderless ‘hive mind’, devoid of personal philosophy eschewing any individualisation or emergence of leadership or personality. Anonymous is able to identify insider status within the community through reference to individual knowledge of a collective cultural capital. Esoteric memes comprise the fundamental cultural formation of the group, and, as such, a detailed knowledge of these allows for inter-community communication. Anonymous employs aspects of meritocracy in formulating collective decisions. With all members utilising the same user-name, individualism is nonexistent. As such, the merit of an argument is based solely on its content as opposed to a pre-constructed perception of the individual and their perceived history or standing in the group. Furthermore, an individual’s mastery of the group’s culture denotes their involvement within the community and the level of their understanding in relation to its founding ideology.
From this basis, and utilising aspects of direct democracy, Anonymous is able to orchestrate large scale activist operations; coinciding with the current membership’s majority outlook. In this sense, Anonymous has no definitive political, philosophical, theological or sociological preference as the group’s membership is in a constant state of flux.
For these reasons, the paper argues that Anonymous, while utilising direct democracy in the decision making process, also employs aspects of meritocracy in judging the relevance, validity and worth of individual postings and contributions to their debates on upcoming actions and campaigns. Therefore, this paper provides a contribution to greater understanding of decentralised virtual community decision making processes amongst activist organisations."
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Blogs by Max Halupka
Anti-politics has increasingly preoccupied political scientists, with many seeking to explain fal... more Anti-politics has increasingly preoccupied political scientists, with many seeking to explain falling electoral participation and the growing gap between citizens and government. Yet the term ‘anti-politics’ presupposes that the actions of citizens are non-political. This is grossly misleading. We need only look at the rise of populist, anti-establishment parties across Europe – or, most prominently, the rise of Trump in America – to see that disenchantment with conventional politics is anything but non-political. Instead, as we argue in a new article in Political Quarterly, it represents anger and alienation rather than apathy, and a shift in political participation and the way people ‘do politics’.
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Cyber is sexy right now. Indeed, attach the word ‘cyber’ to anything and it’s bound to attract so... more Cyber is sexy right now. Indeed, attach the word ‘cyber’ to anything and it’s bound to attract some form of attention. From cyberactivism through to cyberterrorism – such portmanteaus both scare and intrigue us. Perhaps it’s the sense of unknowing attached to it all that gets a rise out of us. Most of us know how to use a computer, some of us would even deem our skills adequate. However, save for a few experts and those under 25 (often one in the same), the internet largely remains a mystery.
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Papers by Max Halupka
The project commenced with several high profile public events in Canberra at which notable senior women told stories about their journeys to the top, as well as identifying the barriers they confronted and the coping mechanisms that they developed to navigate around them. The panellists at these events included: the Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC, Governor-General of Australia; Katy Gallagher MLA; Virginia Haussegger; Wendy McCarthy AO; Roxanne Missingham; Christine Nixon APM; Lisa Paul AO PSM; Tu Pham PSM; and, Natasha Stott Despoja AM.
It is noteworthy that, most of our high performing women had been counselled at some time to be more ‘male’ in their approach, if they were to gain more respect and be more effective in their leadership roles. Overwhelmingly, they saw that it was preferable to display leadership qualities based on personal authenticity and integrity; although this was not easy. They all viewed the development of personal support networks as critical to their success in coping with the “male-streamed” culture they experienced.
After a series of these events, in the absence of primary research findings to reinforce the emerging perceptions of a relatively small sample of women elites, the Reference Group decided that it would be valuable to investigate a broader set of perceptions of senior public servants. In particular, the Reference group sought to identify which barriers appear to impede women’s progress through to the senior ranks of the APS i.e. the Senior Executive Service (SES). This is the subject of this report.
Conference Presentations by Max Halupka
The March in March was not a formal organization with members. Rather, it served as an organizational thematic under which persons mobilized on the streets and online in opposition to the government. While the number of people protesting on the streets was impressive, it was the tweets and Facebook posts which seemingly drove them to engage, and in this, share their messages. Despite the relatively low levels of street level protest, Australians have shown a high level of interest in issue groups and online activism (Vromen 2011, 2012). The question this paper poses is, to what extent did the March in March gain traction on political debate in Australia, in the absence of a single issue binding participants, without the support of social movement organizations, and in a society that is not predisposed to formal protest participation. We look at this question in terms of the movement’s distillation of issues through contemporary approaches to political participation, and the uptake of those issues by Australian media.
The article explores both the success and failure of clicktivism as a means of civic and political participation. It argues that the popularity of clicktivism derives from a narrative based perception of its effectiveness to incite political change. This perception stems primarily from two sources, first, the significance afforded such acts by the global media, and second, the precedent set by the relative success of top-down e-activist organisations. In exploring this perception, the article discusses the potential problems that may arise with a realisation of the ineffectiveness of such political acts. Specifically, it outlines the potential for further disengagement from formal structures, and an impending apathy towards such informal avenues. "
We argue that meritocracy and direct democracy form the base for their decision making process. This, in itself, derives from their unique community characteristics which draw upon an anti- individualistic ideology. Anonymous functions as a leaderless ‘hive mind’, devoid of personal philosophy eschewing any individualisation or emergence of leadership or personality. Anonymous is able to identify insider status within the community through reference to individual knowledge of a collective cultural capital. Esoteric memes comprise the fundamental cultural formation of the group, and, as such, a detailed knowledge of these allows for inter-community communication. Anonymous employs aspects of meritocracy in formulating collective decisions. With all members utilising the same user-name, individualism is nonexistent. As such, the merit of an argument is based solely on its content as opposed to a pre-constructed perception of the individual and their perceived history or standing in the group. Furthermore, an individual’s mastery of the group’s culture denotes their involvement within the community and the level of their understanding in relation to its founding ideology.
From this basis, and utilising aspects of direct democracy, Anonymous is able to orchestrate large scale activist operations; coinciding with the current membership’s majority outlook. In this sense, Anonymous has no definitive political, philosophical, theological or sociological preference as the group’s membership is in a constant state of flux.
For these reasons, the paper argues that Anonymous, while utilising direct democracy in the decision making process, also employs aspects of meritocracy in judging the relevance, validity and worth of individual postings and contributions to their debates on upcoming actions and campaigns. Therefore, this paper provides a contribution to greater understanding of decentralised virtual community decision making processes amongst activist organisations."
Blogs by Max Halupka
The project commenced with several high profile public events in Canberra at which notable senior women told stories about their journeys to the top, as well as identifying the barriers they confronted and the coping mechanisms that they developed to navigate around them. The panellists at these events included: the Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC, Governor-General of Australia; Katy Gallagher MLA; Virginia Haussegger; Wendy McCarthy AO; Roxanne Missingham; Christine Nixon APM; Lisa Paul AO PSM; Tu Pham PSM; and, Natasha Stott Despoja AM.
It is noteworthy that, most of our high performing women had been counselled at some time to be more ‘male’ in their approach, if they were to gain more respect and be more effective in their leadership roles. Overwhelmingly, they saw that it was preferable to display leadership qualities based on personal authenticity and integrity; although this was not easy. They all viewed the development of personal support networks as critical to their success in coping with the “male-streamed” culture they experienced.
After a series of these events, in the absence of primary research findings to reinforce the emerging perceptions of a relatively small sample of women elites, the Reference Group decided that it would be valuable to investigate a broader set of perceptions of senior public servants. In particular, the Reference group sought to identify which barriers appear to impede women’s progress through to the senior ranks of the APS i.e. the Senior Executive Service (SES). This is the subject of this report.
The March in March was not a formal organization with members. Rather, it served as an organizational thematic under which persons mobilized on the streets and online in opposition to the government. While the number of people protesting on the streets was impressive, it was the tweets and Facebook posts which seemingly drove them to engage, and in this, share their messages. Despite the relatively low levels of street level protest, Australians have shown a high level of interest in issue groups and online activism (Vromen 2011, 2012). The question this paper poses is, to what extent did the March in March gain traction on political debate in Australia, in the absence of a single issue binding participants, without the support of social movement organizations, and in a society that is not predisposed to formal protest participation. We look at this question in terms of the movement’s distillation of issues through contemporary approaches to political participation, and the uptake of those issues by Australian media.
The article explores both the success and failure of clicktivism as a means of civic and political participation. It argues that the popularity of clicktivism derives from a narrative based perception of its effectiveness to incite political change. This perception stems primarily from two sources, first, the significance afforded such acts by the global media, and second, the precedent set by the relative success of top-down e-activist organisations. In exploring this perception, the article discusses the potential problems that may arise with a realisation of the ineffectiveness of such political acts. Specifically, it outlines the potential for further disengagement from formal structures, and an impending apathy towards such informal avenues. "
We argue that meritocracy and direct democracy form the base for their decision making process. This, in itself, derives from their unique community characteristics which draw upon an anti- individualistic ideology. Anonymous functions as a leaderless ‘hive mind’, devoid of personal philosophy eschewing any individualisation or emergence of leadership or personality. Anonymous is able to identify insider status within the community through reference to individual knowledge of a collective cultural capital. Esoteric memes comprise the fundamental cultural formation of the group, and, as such, a detailed knowledge of these allows for inter-community communication. Anonymous employs aspects of meritocracy in formulating collective decisions. With all members utilising the same user-name, individualism is nonexistent. As such, the merit of an argument is based solely on its content as opposed to a pre-constructed perception of the individual and their perceived history or standing in the group. Furthermore, an individual’s mastery of the group’s culture denotes their involvement within the community and the level of their understanding in relation to its founding ideology.
From this basis, and utilising aspects of direct democracy, Anonymous is able to orchestrate large scale activist operations; coinciding with the current membership’s majority outlook. In this sense, Anonymous has no definitive political, philosophical, theological or sociological preference as the group’s membership is in a constant state of flux.
For these reasons, the paper argues that Anonymous, while utilising direct democracy in the decision making process, also employs aspects of meritocracy in judging the relevance, validity and worth of individual postings and contributions to their debates on upcoming actions and campaigns. Therefore, this paper provides a contribution to greater understanding of decentralised virtual community decision making processes amongst activist organisations."