tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/petitions-14265/articlesPetitions – The Conversation2023-02-02T06:48:39Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1987982023-02-02T06:48:39Z2023-02-02T06:48:39ZThe body choosing Kenya’s election commission is being overhauled – how this could strengthen democracy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507316/original/file-20230131-4114-8kr9t0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">William Ruto (right) takes over from Uhuru Kenyatta as Kenya's president in 2022. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Kenya has new rules for choosing the people who run its elections.</p>
<p>President William Ruto has signed into law the <a href="http://www.parliament.go.ke/index.php/iebc-amendment-bill-2022-assented-law">Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (Amendment) Bill</a>. It changes the composition of the panel that selects people to serve on the country’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.iebc.or.ke/iebc/?mandate">commission</a> is a state institution that has the task of enhancing and supporting constitutional democracy in Kenya. It conducts elections, registers citizens as voters and maintains the voters’ roll. It also fixes the boundaries of electoral constituencies and wards. It settles electoral disputes, registers candidates for election and conducts voter education.</p>
<p>But since it was established in 2011, the commission has been at the centre of Kenya’s history of post-election violence. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/counties/article/2000203367/the-truth-lies-and-dangers-as-debate-on-iebc-rages-on">2013</a>, <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/20171018-kenya-election-chief-doubt-free-fair-poll-kenyatta-odinga-demonstrations">2017</a> and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/rigging-allegations-begin-kenyan-media-slow-tally-votes-tight-presidential-race-2022-08-12/">2022</a>, the losing political parties accused it of failing to administer elections fairly and lawfully. </p>
<p>In 2017, the Kenyan supreme court accused the commission of “<a href="https://www.zawya.com/en/economy/africa/kenyans-usher-in-year-of-political-reforms-i46ulluz">bungling</a>” the presidential election. In the 2022 elections, the then vice-chairperson of the commission, Juliana Cherera, <a href="https://www.pd.co.ke/august-9/4-iebc-commissioners-disown-presidential-results-144903/">disowned the results</a> of the presidential poll before the official announcement. </p>
<p><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/politics/-raila-calls-for-constitutional-changes-and-iebc-reforms--4001430">Raila Odinga</a>, who lost that poll, called for reforms that would make the electoral commission a much fairer referee of the country’s elections. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/raila-odinga-should-be-thanked-his-election-losses-helped-deepen-kenyas-democracy-190044">Raila Odinga should be thanked - his election losses helped deepen Kenya's democracy</a>
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<p>The new law seeks to <a href="http://www.parliament.go.ke/sites/default/files/2022-11/Independent%20Electoral%20and%20Boundaries%20Commission%20%28Amendment%29%20Bill%2C%202022.pdf">streamline the process</a> of appointing members to the electoral commission, making the selection process more participatory and reflective of the country’s diversity.</p>
<p>And it comes at a critical moment. Seven commissioner positions are currently vacant.</p>
<p>A weak electoral agency poses four major threats to Kenya’s democracy: it will fail to deliver fair, free and credible elections; it will disrupt improvements in the country’s transition to democracy; it will prolong the culture of post-election violence; and it will divide the nation’s diverse ethnocultural groups.</p>
<p>It is, therefore, vital that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission be a strong and fully functioning organisation staffed by Kenyans who are dedicated to democratic governance. </p>
<h2>What’s changing under the new law</h2>
<p>Selecting electoral commissioners is a complex job. </p>
<p>The new law brings more independent commissioners and associations into the selection process. Previously, only three agencies nominated the seven commissioners: the <a href="http://www.parliament.go.ke/psc/the-commission">Parliamentary Service Commission</a>, the <a href="https://interreligiouscouncil.or.ke/history/">Inter-Religious Council of Kenya</a> and the <a href="https://twitter.com/lawsocietykenya?lang=en">Law Society of Kenya</a>. Now there are five. The newcomers are the <a href="https://orpp.or.ke/index.php/services/political-parties-liaison-committees-pplc">Political Parties Liaison Committee</a> and the <a href="https://www.publicservice.go.ke/index.php/about-us/mandate">Public Service Commission</a>. They open the door for political parties and the public service to participate in this critical process.</p>
<p>It’s important that the selection panel includes state and non-state organisations that promote election integrity. Only individuals who are citizens of Kenya and meet the integrity requirements in <a href="http://www.kenyalaw.org:8181/exist/kenyalex/actview.xql?actid=Const2010#KE/CON/Const2010/chap_6">Chapter 6</a> of the constitution can serve on the selection panel. These individuals must hold a degree from a university recognised in Kenya.</p>
<h2>The vacancies</h2>
<p>Three of the current vacancies in the commission were expected: these commissioners’ terms had expired. But four other commissioners quit under a cloud of suspicion. </p>
<p>Cherera, Justus Nyang'aya and Francis Wanderi resigned after being <a href="https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/realtime/2022-12-06-cherera-four-should-be-probed-even-after-resigning-mp-kiarie/">suspended for their conduct</a> during the 2022 election. They had alleged that commission chairperson Wafula Chebukati had <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/national/article/2001462824/cherera-nyangaya-wanderi-and-masit-to-be-investigated-individually-muchelule-says">altered poll results</a> in favour of Ruto. Another commissioner, Irene Masit, was also suspended. She now has <a href="https://www.citizen.digital/news/irene-masit-breaks-silence-after-skipping-hearings-by-tribunal-probing-cherera-4-n311525">charges pending</a> against her before a tribunal investigating the matter.</p>
<h2>Why elections matter</h2>
<p>Elections are <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/2020/10/30/threats-to-democracy-in-africa-the-rise-of-the-constitutional-coup/">a cornerstone of any democracy</a>. They help a nation build and sustain democratic and development-enhancing institutions. </p>
<p>They are a check on government. Elections put the power in ordinary people’s hands to change their government and choose more effective leaders for public service. They also give historically marginalised groups a voice.</p>
<p>To perform these functions, elections must meet certain minimum standards. They must be regular, fair, free, competitive, inclusive, transparent and credible. They must be conducted in strict conformity with the constitution. </p>
<p>That’s why a strong, independent and functioning electoral agency is so vital. </p>
<h2>Risks of dysfunction</h2>
<p>In Kenya, a weak and dysfunctional electoral commission would have dire consequences.</p>
<p>First, the failure to conduct elections that are considered by the majority of Kenyans as free, fair and credible could lead to the type of violence that the country experienced after the <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2013/3/3/kenya-what-went-wrong-in-2007">2007 presidential election</a>. More than 1,000 people died. </p>
<p>Second, a weak commission can derail improvements in Kenya’s electoral system. A strong commission sets codes of conduct for candidates and political parties. This helps guard against various forms of political opportunism, including corruption. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fears-of-election-rigging-may-fuel-further-abuses-in-kenya-democracy-could-be-the-loser-176113">Fears of election rigging may fuel further abuses in Kenya: democracy could be the loser</a>
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<p>Third, a dysfunctional electoral commission can be manipulated by politicians and their supporters to monopolise political spaces. This situation has played out in <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/a-13-2007-07-23-voa7-66781532/565192.html">Cameroon</a>, where the ruling party has marginalised the opposition to remain in power since 1990. Similarly, in <a href="https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20200224-togo-incumbent-re-elected-fourth-term-opposition-alleges-fraud">Togo</a>, President Faure Gnassingbé has monopolised political spaces since 2005. </p>
<p>Fourth, in Kenya, the electoral commission is responsible for creating electoral boundaries. Any weakness in the commission can be exploited to create boundaries that benefit certain politicians and their supporters. This would undermine democracy and create distrust in the country’s democratic institutions.</p>
<p>The new law <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/politics/senators-split-on-proposal-to-change-law-on-iebc-selection-4090866">doesn’t meet the expectations</a> of all of Kenya’s political constituencies – some individuals and groups believe that their voice in the selection panel has been diluted. However, it’s important for all Kenyans to recognise these reforms as an effort in the right direction – towards a stronger and more inclusive commission.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198798/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Mukum Mbaku does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Kenya’s electoral agency is tasked with enhancing and supporting constitutional democracy – any dysfunctions would have dire consequences.John Mukum Mbaku, Professor, Weber State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1897342022-09-05T10:37:12Z2022-09-05T10:37:12ZCan social media be used as a source of evidence in Kenya’s election petitions?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482305/original/file-20220901-19-gbyywj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The conduct of Kenya’s elections has repeatedly come under close scrutiny in the courts. Petitions were lodged challenging the outcome of presidential races in <a href="http://kenyalaw.org/caselaw/cases/view/87380/">2013</a> and <a href="http://kenyalaw.org/caselaw/cases/view/140478/">2017</a>, as well as in the most <a href="https://www.theafricareport.com/237697/kenya-2022-lies-damn-lies-and-statistics/">recent poll</a>. In addition to these, other elective seats invite dozens of petitions. An issue that has come to the fore is whether those who file petitions can use material from social media platforms as evidence. Law lecturer Claire Adionyi interrogates the role social media information plays as a source of evidence in election petitions.</em></p>
<h2>How is evidence from social media viewed in legal terms?</h2>
<p>There is a large amount of information posted on social media platforms that may be of value as evidence in a court of law. In law, this type of information is known as <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2022-04/OHCHR_BerkeleyProtocol.pdf">open source information</a>. It is publicly available information that any member of the public can observe, purchase or request without requiring special legal status or authorised access. </p>
<p>Such open source information can be used for information and evidence gathering purposes in an investigation. This turns it into open source evidence. This is <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2022-04/OHCHR_BerkeleyProtocol.pdf">defined</a> as evidence that has been obtained from online social platforms – such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter – and may be used in a court of law.</p>
<h2>Why has the use of this kind of evidence become an issue?</h2>
<p>Kenya <a href="https://businesstoday.co.ke/kenya-leads-africa-smartphone-usage/">leads Africa</a> with a mobile phone penetration rate of 91%. Out of a population of about 52 million, a total of 43 million Kenyans have access to the internet. With this level of connectivity, the 9 August 2022 election was arguably the most well-documented election in the country’s history. </p>
<p>With the proliferation of mobile devices and affordable access to the internet, it has become an <a href="https://harvardhrj.com/2019/04/open-source-evidence-and-the-international-criminal-court/">accepted reality</a> that news spreads faster on social media than on traditional media. Citizens have posted unprecedented volumes of digital imagery and videos on social media platforms. </p>
<p>The power to record and share information was once the preserve of the country’s few media houses. Today, <a href="https://www.ca.go.ke/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Sector-Statistics-Report-Q3-2021-2022.pdf#page=14">one in two Kenyans</a> owns a smartphone and has access to the <a href="https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2022-kenya">12 million</a> people in the country on social media.</p>
<p>The question that’s arisen in Kenya is whether open source information can be used in petitions challenging the outcome of elections. And are the courts ready for this development?</p>
<p>The simple answer to this is no, they aren’t. </p>
<p>Based on my experience as a law lecturer and PhD candidate studying this issue, my view is that open source information has changed the landscape of evidentiary processes. Kenyan practitioners will have to deal with this soon. This new type of evidence doesn’t fall within the confines of the traditional rules of evidence. This means Kenyan courts need to have standard operating procedures for litigating and evaluating open source evidence.</p>
<h2>What are the challenges with using open source material as evidence?</h2>
<p>The challenges relate to two main issues.</p>
<p>First, there are issues of discovery and verification of material within the context of an <a href="https://www.yalelawjournal.org/forum/open-source-evidence-on-trial">increasing volume</a> of online information. </p>
<p>Second, due to the nature of open source evidence, one has to contend with <a href="https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1334&context=dltr">issues</a> of misattribution, staging, technical manipulation and deep fakes, among other things.</p>
<p>So it’s not just a matter of getting this information from social media platforms and submitting it to court as legal evidence. There are various procedural and evidentiary legal loopholes that have to be navigated for such information to be of use. </p>
<p>These include ensuring the material is in its original form and that it’s reliable.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://kenyalaw.org/caselaw/cases/view/143867/">2017 Steve Mbogo election petition</a> illustrates the challenges with this kind of evidence. It also points to why there needs to be recourse. </p>
<p>The petition was <a href="https://icj-kenya.org/news/sdm_downloads/compendium-of-2017-election-petitions/">one of dozens</a> filed after the country’s 2017 election.</p>
<p>In court, Mbogo attempted to cite evidence from social media platforms in support of his petition. He was challenging the outcome of elections held in August 2017 for a parliamentary seat in Nairobi’s Starehe constituency, where he was a candidate. </p>
<p>The High Court of Kenya did not admit the open source evidence he provided, due to procedural challenges based on section 106B(2) of the <a href="http://kenyalaw.org:8181/exist/kenyalex/actview.xql?actid=CAP.%2080">Evidence Act</a>, which contains guiding principles on the production of digital evidence in court proceedings. Therefore, and unfortunately, the court didn’t evaluate the technical questions on the admissibility of open source evidence in this case.</p>
<p>The case points to two main loopholes.</p>
<p>Firstly, issues of discovery and verification of relevant material.</p>
<p>The second point relates to the procedural and evidentiary legal loopholes that have to be navigated for such information to be used.</p>
<p>An example of this existing gap in Kenyan law relates to <a href="https://cipit.strathmore.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Admission-of-Electronic-Evidence-Contradictions-in-the-Kenyan-Evidence-Act.pdf">section 78A</a> of the Evidence Act, which deals with the admissibility of electronic and digital evidence. </p>
<p>This section doesn’t set out the conditions to be considered prior to the admissibility of open source evidence. It instead addresses considerations as to the probative value of such evidence. This presents a challenge to anyone who seeks to use this type of evidence.</p>
<h2>So what needs to be done?</h2>
<p>Kenya could learn lessons from the International Criminal Court, which is a <a href="https://harvardhrj.com/2019/04/open-source-evidence-and-the-international-criminal-court/">standard setter</a> when it comes to the use of open source evidence. It continues to do a significant amount of work. This includes the creation of a technology advisory panel, working with academics and private actors to ensure that the court is able to tap into this rich source of evidence while still adhering to legal requirements.</p>
<p>These lessons would help Kenya fix the legal loopholes on the production and admissibility of open source evidence.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189734/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Claire Adionyi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>There’s a lot of information on social media that would support legal proceedings, but courts have yet to harness this.Claire Adionyi, Research Director, Strathmore UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1814592022-05-05T12:43:51Z2022-05-05T12:43:51ZA white librettist wrote an opera about Emmett Till – and some critics are calling for its cancellation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461045/original/file-20220503-12-jpgsmp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C22%2C2986%2C1976&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A faded photograph is attached to the headstone that marks the gravesite of Emmett Till in Chicago.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/faded-photograph-is-attached-to-the-headstone-that-marks-news-photo/1308512100">Scott Olson/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>“Are Black audiences, actors, and producers simply conditioned to having their stories told by white counterparts?” screenwriter and director <a href="https://www.ebony.com/entertainment/op-ed-the-problem-with-white-writers-writing-black-stories/">Darian Lane</a>, who is Black, wondered in a 2021 op-ed for Ebony. </p>
<p>On TV and in film, white authorship of Black stories has long been a point of contention, whether it was David Simon <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/11/us/who-gets-to-tell-a-black-story.html">writing about a Black neighborhood</a> in Baltimore for his series “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0306414/">The Wire</a>” or Tate Taylor writing and directing “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1454029/">The Help</a>.”</p>
<p>It was only a matter of time before this issue would beset the world of opera. Since “Emmett Till, A New American Opera” <a href="https://playbill.com/article/emmett-till-a-new-american-opera-to-premiere-at-john-jay-college">premiered at John Jay College</a> on March 23, 2022,
a <a href="https://www.change.org/p/cancel-a-new-american-opera-emmett-till-at-john-jay-college">Change.org petition</a> has circulated with 12,000-plus signatories calling for the production to never again see the light of day. </p>
<p>The reason?</p>
<p>A white woman named Clare Coss wrote <a href="https://www.uncoveringsound.com/difference-between-a-libretto-and-a-script/">the libretto</a>, or text, for the opera, which she based on an award-winning play she had written called “<a href="https://theaterlife.com/emmett-down-in-my-heart/">Emmett, Down in My Heart</a>” in 2015. </p>
<p>Coss concocted a fictional white female protagonist named Roann Taylor, who fails to call the police when she overhears the lynching of the 14-year-old Till. Eventually, she realizes that her silence has perpetuated injustice and she confronts the killers. </p>
<p>Critics claim the opera elevates the guilt of white audiences while capitalizing on Black trauma. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/music/2022/03/22/emmett-till-opera-protest/">The Washington Post</a> notes that the production joins a slew of white-authored responses to the Emmett Till murder that didn’t sit well with the Black community, ranging from Bob Dylan’s “<a href="https://bob-dylan.org.uk/archives/5856">Death of Emmett Till</a>” to Dana Schutz’s painting “<a href="https://www.vulture.com/2022/01/dana-schutz-open-casket-emmett-till-painting.html">Open Casket</a>.”</p>
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<img alt="Painting of boy in suit in casket." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460796/original/file-20220502-22-8flicq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460796/original/file-20220502-22-8flicq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460796/original/file-20220502-22-8flicq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460796/original/file-20220502-22-8flicq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460796/original/file-20220502-22-8flicq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460796/original/file-20220502-22-8flicq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460796/original/file-20220502-22-8flicq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Dana Schutz’s painting of Till sparked protests during the 2017 Whitney Biennial, where it was displayed – with some people calling for its destruction.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Casket#/media/File:Dana_Schutz_Open_Casket_2016_Oil_on_canvas.jpg">Dana Schutz, Open Casket (2016). Oil on canvas</a></span>
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<p>On the one hand, I sympathize with the frustrating legacy of white artists telling Black stories. On the other hand, my 25 years of experience <a href="https://gufaculty360.georgetown.edu/s/contact/0031Q00002QPtm6QAD/anita-gonzalez">teaching African-American theater</a> have made me acutely sensitive to the complications of authorship – especially when it comes to stage productions.</p>
<h2>Whom is the opera for?</h2>
<p>When artists develop new stories about Black experiences it matters who creates the story. How might their own background connect to the narrative? What sort of audience do they have in mind?</p>
<p>Social activist and cultural thinker W.E.B Du Bois published <a href="https://archive.org/search.php?query=sim_pubid%3A10994+AND+volume%3A32&sort=date">an essay in a 1926 issue of Crisis magazine</a> that set out to define what constitutes African American drama. He argued that they were plays that ought to be “about” Black communities, “by” Black authors, written “for” Black audiences and performed “near” Black neighborhoods.</p>
<p>Under this definition, Coss’ opera wouldn’t be considered African American drama. While it was a production about the Black community, it was composed, in part, to help white audiences empathize with Black pain. </p>
<p>And even though Coss has said the opera is intended for everyone, she’s also noted that the inclusion of a white character who recognizes her slow response to racial violence was <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/deceptivecadence/2022/03/23/1088169711/a-new-opera-about-emmett-till-is-criticized-for-being-written-by-a-white-woman">important for predominantly white operagoing audiences to see</a>.</p>
<p>This is the rub. Many Black artists <a href="https://www.ebony.com/entertainment/op-ed-the-problem-with-white-writers-writing-black-stories/">are weary of products told from white perspectives</a> because there’s a tendency for the characters and conflicts to fall into familiar tropes. Lost are the ambiguities and inconsistencies of our unique cultural legacies.</p>
<p>Productions like George Gershwin’s “<a href="https://www.metopera.org/season/2021-22-season/porgy-and-bess/">Porgy and Bess</a>,” where the Black experience is reflected in old tropes, still draw huge crowds. The opera – which tells the story of Porgy, a disabled, downtrodden Black man who lives among drug dealers and addicts – perpetuates stereotypes of Black people as addicts who are incapable of self-sufficiency.</p>
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<img alt="Older man using crutches sings on stage." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461049/original/file-20220503-19080-6ru4ob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461049/original/file-20220503-19080-6ru4ob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461049/original/file-20220503-19080-6ru4ob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461049/original/file-20220503-19080-6ru4ob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461049/original/file-20220503-19080-6ru4ob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461049/original/file-20220503-19080-6ru4ob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461049/original/file-20220503-19080-6ru4ob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A 2019 dress rehearsal of ‘Porgy and Bess’ at New York City’s Metropolitan Opera House.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/american-baritone-eric-owens-performs-at-the-final-dress-news-photo/1179461251?adppopup=true">Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images</a></span>
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<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/20/us/george-floyd-protests-police-reform.html">In this moment of raised social consciousness</a>, it’s important to tell stories about Black injustices. But stories of joy, community, healing and wellness are just as important. </p>
<p>So it’s refreshing to see newer musicals like Michael R. Jackson’s “<a href="https://strangeloopmusical.com/">A Strange Loop</a>,” which is now playing on Broadway. Jackson, who is Black, wrote a musical that plumbs the inner psyche of a character named Usher who struggles with anxieties about his queer identity and lifestyle. A chorus of colorful characters depicts his thoughts as he untangles his fraught family relationships and rebuilds his self-esteem. </p>
<h2>The complications of ‘by’</h2>
<p>The “by” of Du Bois’ argument is particularly complex in the case of both the Till opera and “Porgy and Bess.” Both productions feature white authors writing about Black experiences that are then depicted by Black performers. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461052/original/file-20220503-17-8tt63g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Man in suit sits in chair." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461052/original/file-20220503-17-8tt63g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461052/original/file-20220503-17-8tt63g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=887&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461052/original/file-20220503-17-8tt63g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=887&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461052/original/file-20220503-17-8tt63g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=887&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461052/original/file-20220503-17-8tt63g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1114&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461052/original/file-20220503-17-8tt63g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1114&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461052/original/file-20220503-17-8tt63g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1114&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">To W.E.B. Du Bois, a work needed to meet certain criteria to be considered African American drama.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/dubois-waits-to-be-called-as-a-witness-at-the-federal-news-photo/514697730?adppopup=true">Bettmann/Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Is the author the writer, producer, director or lead performer? Many productions about the Black experience – Steven Spielberg’s 1985 adaptation of Alice Walker’s “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088939/">The Color Purple</a>” is just one example that comes to mind – were originally authored by Blacks yet produced by whites to accommodate white sensibilities. At the time of its release, the film also <a href="https://www.indiewire.com/2020/04/the-color-purple-debate-anniversary-1202217786/">elicited controversy</a> for depicting Black female experiences through the eyes of a white male producer and director.</p>
<p>The current controversy about the Emmett Till opera ultimately glosses over a complex collaborative processes. As with most performance projects, many artists participated in realizing the final product. Afro-Cuban composer <a href="https://www.tanialeon.com/">Tania León</a> conducted the score. The Harlem Chamber Players and Opera Noire International co-produced the work. </p>
<p>Most importantly, Mary Watkins, the composer, is Black. The composer is usually considered the core creative artist in an operatic work, and Watkins artfully uses emotional arias and music that mimics moans to draw listeners into the anguish of the mother’s loss.</p>
<p>“Even though there are many artists of color involved in this project, the critics are assuming that we have had no impact on the final shape of the piece and that the playwright has somehow forced all of us to tell her story,” <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/music/2022/03/22/emmett-till-opera-protest/">Watkins wrote in an email interview</a>. “It is an insult to me as a Black woman and to the cast members who are African-American.” </p>
<h2>Performing race</h2>
<p>One of my students once pointed out that enslaved Africans arrived in the Americas naked and were then forced to don clothing provided by the enslavers. </p>
<p>We have been wearing garments and identities designed to conform to white sensibilities ever since. African American theater historians have long grappled with how to assess Black contributions in a country where white critics, by and large, evaluate our cultural productions. </p>
<p>Books like “<a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/african-american-performance-and-theater-history-9780195127256?cc=us&lang=en&">African American Performance and Theater History</a>” describe how double-conscious performance styles enabled Black artists to resist stereotypical representations on stage. <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/04/hattie-mcdaniel-gone-with-the-wind-oscars-autobiography">Hattie McDaniel</a>, for example, played the maid in “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gone_with_the_Wind_(film)">Gone With the Wind”</a> with tenacious spunk, using sassy comedy to humanize her servile “Mammy” role.</p>
<p>Newer anthologies, like my edited collection “<a href="https://www.dukeupress.edu/black-performance-theory">Black Performance Theory</a>,” complicate notions of Black authorship and artistry. The book describes how Blackness circulates through cultural productions as vocal, physical and visual imagery which may or may not be aligned with Black bodies on stage. For example, in “Emmett Till, A New American Opera,” Watkins’ use of resonant open tones in the first few bars of Mamie Till’s lament, “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kfwNzQyrDA&t=28s">My Son, My Child</a>,” evokes the choral singing of the African American gospel tradition.</p>
<p>To me, the backlash against the white librettist is ultimately a waste of time. Not only is there room for works done in collaboration with Black artists, but cross-cultural, interethnic collaborations also add to the richness and versatility of performed storytelling. </p>
<p>Du Bois wrote about Black performance as it existed within the confines of a segregated society. Theatrical performances by, for, near and about can certainly unite Black communities around collective storytelling. </p>
<p>But I also cherish the vibrancy of storytelling that includes a diversity of perspectives. I hope to see more operas, plays and musicals that encourage conversations about Black identities – without efforts to cancel those who have contributed to the effort.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/181459/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anita Gonzalez does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Many Black audiences are justifiably weary of works about their community told from white perspectives. But authorship isn’t always black and white.Anita Gonzalez, Professor of African American Studies and Performing Arts, Co-Founder/Director Racial Justice Institute, Georgetown UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1142172019-03-25T14:08:14Z2019-03-25T14:08:14ZCan the Revoke Article 50 petition change the course of Brexit?<p>There is something quite unusual about the e-petition to revoke <a href="https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/241584">Article 50</a>. Well, there are a few things that are unusual about it but I’ll focus on this one for now: its supporters have a target to meet. </p>
<p>Usually, the goal with petitions of this kind is to reach 100,000 signatures. When that threshold has been reached, the Petitions Committee must consider the petition for debate in parliament. That number is now seemingly irrelevant for the Article 50 petition, which has already attracted millions of signatures. The goal now seems to be to reach 17.4m – which would match the number of people who voted to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum. It’s currently a long way from it, but if the petition did reach that goal, would it make any difference?</p>
<p>There are different types of petitions, which can be categorised into what I call <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/what-is-the-point-of-petitions/">“protest” and “substantive” petitions</a>. The revoke <a href="https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/241584">Article 50 petition</a> is a very good example of the former. </p>
<p>Substantive petitions are often very specific and relate to ongoing issues that have affected the petitioner(s) deeply, directly and for some time; their primary aim is to change specific policy, such as the one asking for British Sign Language to be part of the <a href="https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/200000#debate-threshold">national curriculum</a>.</p>
<p>Protest petitions also want to achieve change, but their primary aim is to show dissatisfaction. They’re the online expression of a mass demonstration. At least 255 e-petitions on Brexit have already been accepted in this parliament alone (adding to the 308 accepted in the 2015-17 parliament). At least nine parliamentary debates have taken place specifically on Brexit petitions, including another <a href="https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/239706#debate-threshold">one on revoking Article 50</a>, which received just under 149,000 signatures. That petition was published just nine days before the current one. However, it’s the current one that has broken all records, becoming the most signed petition ever to the UK parliament, attracting more than 5m signatures in just a few days. What’s new with this one is the political context.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265582/original/file-20190325-36248-mccl0e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265582/original/file-20190325-36248-mccl0e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=269&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265582/original/file-20190325-36248-mccl0e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=269&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265582/original/file-20190325-36248-mccl0e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=269&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265582/original/file-20190325-36248-mccl0e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265582/original/file-20190325-36248-mccl0e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265582/original/file-20190325-36248-mccl0e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">At the time of publication, the petition had more than 5m signatures.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/241584">UK Parliament</a></span>
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<p>As with some of the other Brexit petitions, the Revoke Article 50 petition actually struggled to get to the 20,000 mark at first. But that was before Theresa May’s speech on March 20, which provoked <a href="https://theconversation.com/theresa-may-requests-short-brexit-extension-how-to-understand-this-reckless-move-113966">dismay and anger</a>. After an extraordinary and widely criticised intervention, in which she openly blamed parliament for the current Brexit deadlock, the petition began growing and secured some celebrity endorsement (e-petitions usually skyrocket thanks to celebrity endorsements, which widen their reach considerably). This is what set it onto a path to achieve 5m signatures in just a few days. </p>
<h2>Beyond signatures</h2>
<p>Whether this petition makes a difference depends on how it is linked to other ongoing campaigning. Petitions by themselves do not achieve change – but they can be <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/what-is-the-point-of-petitions/">a powerful tool to harness support</a> and parliament’s integration of e-petitions into its formal processes strengthens this potential considerably.</p>
<p>However, those petitions which do manage to achieve change tend to be about far more specific and non-partisan issues. See, for instance, the petitions on <a href="https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/105560">brain tumour research funding</a> (which led to reinforcement of funding for research on this specific type of cancer), or the one asking for police officer status <a href="https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/168678">for police dogs and horses</a>, which has now been turned into <a href="https://services.parliament.uk/Bills/2017-19/serviceanimalsoffences.html">legislation</a> and is in its final stages of consideration by parliament. </p>
<p>The Revoke Article 50 petition certainly doesn’t seem to be a specific and non-partisan issue. It refers to the most significant and divisive policy change in modern UK history, and it would affect the whole of society. This doesn’t mean the petition doesn’t have an effect though. While protest petitions can express a strength of feeling from a specific group of people, however, they can also act to reinforce divides.</p>
<p>Inaugurated in 2015, the e-petitions system is a collaboration between government and parliament. E-petitions are submitted online before being considered by the parliamentary Petitions Committee, which, as with other select committees, is composed of 11 MPs from different parties. All petitions achieving 10,000 signatures receive a response from the government and those with 100,000 are automatically considered for a debate.</p>
<p>My <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13572334.2017.1394736?journalCode=fjls20">research</a> shows that 100% of the petitions that have reached 10,000 signatures since the law was changed in 2015 have received a government response. The vast majority of them were also debated in parliament – as were many with far fewer signatures.</p>
<p>However, it’s important to remember that these petitions are merely a participatory democracy tool (or to be more exact, an advocacy democracy tool). They are not direct democracy, where the people make a decision on a specific matter (through, for instance referendums) and they certainly aren’t a substitute for representative democracy, which acts through elected representatives.</p>
<p>If nothing else, those allowed to sign a petition are not necessarily the same as those with the right to vote. One needs to be aged 18 or over and have British nationality to vote. To sign a petition, you simply need to either be British or reside in the UK. I’m not particularly worried about Russian bots, and people’s suspicions of a conspiracy when the site went down are laughable, if not sad. The system is in fact pretty robust, considering its rate of activity. The teams behind it are among the most dedicated staff I have ever encountered and have methods for spotting attempts to subvert the process.</p>
<p>A petition is no substitute for representative democracy, and it needs to be coupled with other activity to achieve real change. However, this should not diminish the role it plays as an expression of dissatisfaction, as the Revoke Article 50 petition clearly shows. And in a crucial a week for Brexit discussions, it is still likely to shape the political discourse.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/114217/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cristina Leston-Bandeira has received funding from the Economic and Social Research Council to fund her research on parliament and public engagement. </span></em></p>E-petitions are an important democratic tool but they need to be part of something bigger to really change things.Cristina Leston-Bandeira, Professor of Politics, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1100292019-01-29T19:11:03Z2019-01-29T19:11:03ZNot another online petition! But here’s why you should think before deleting it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255096/original/file-20190123-135148-8hmc8s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It's a lazy form of activism, but that doesn't mean signing online petitions is useless.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Online petitions are often seen as a <a href="https://uncommonculture.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3336/2767#p3">form of “slacktivism”</a> – small acts that don’t require much commitment and are more about helping us feel good than effective activism. But the impacts of online petitions can stretch beyond immediate results.</p>
<p>Whether they work to create legislative change, or just raise awareness of an issue, there’s some merit to signing them. Even if nothing happens immediately, petitions are one of many ways we can help build long-term change.</p>
<h2>A history of petitions</h2>
<p>Petitions have a long history in Western politics. They developed centuries ago as a way for people to have their voices heard in government or ask for legislative change. But they’ve also been seen as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13572334.2012.706057">largely ineffective</a> in this respect. <a href="https://www.aspg.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/11-PALMIERI-PETITIONS-1.pdf">One study</a> found only three out of 2,589 petitions submitted to the Australian House of Representatives between 1999 and 2007 even received a ministerial response.</p>
<p>Before the end of the second world war, fewer than 16 petitions a year were presented to Australia’s House of Representatives. The new political landscape of the early 1970s <a href="https://www.aspg.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/11-PALMIERI-PETITIONS-1.pdf">saw that number</a> leap into the thousands.</p>
<p>In the 2000s, the House received around 300 petitions per year, and even with online tools, it’s still nowhere near what it was in the 70s. According to the <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/House_of_Representatives/Powers_practice_and_procedure/00_-_Infosheets/Infosheet_11_-_Petitions">parliamentary website</a>, an average of 121 petitions have been presented each year since 2008.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/changing-the-world-one-online-petition-at-a-time-how-social-activism-went-mainstream-61756">Changing the world one online petition at a time: how social activism went mainstream</a>
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<p>Although petitions rarely achieve direct change, they are an important part of the democratic process. Many governments have attempted to facilitate petitioning online. For example, <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Petitions">the Australian parliamentary website</a> helps citizens through the process of developing and submitting petitions. This is one way the internet has made creating and submitting petitions easier. </p>
<p>There are also independent sites that campaigners can use, such as <a href="https://www.change.org/">Change.org</a> and <a href="https://secure.avaaz.org/en/community_petitions/start_a_petition/">Avaaz</a>. It can take under an hour to go from an idea to an online petition that’s ready to share on social media. </p>
<p>As well as petitions being a way for citizens to make requests of their governments, they are now used more broadly. Many petitions reach a global audience – they might call for change from companies, international institutions, or even society as a whole.</p>
<h2>What makes for an effective petition?</h2>
<p>The simplest way to gauge if a petition has been successful is to look at whether the requests made were granted. The front page of Change.org displays recent “victories”. These including a call to <a href="https://www.change.org/p/axe-the-tampontax-bloodyoutrage">axe the so-called “tampon tax”</a> (the GST on <a href="https://www.change.org/p/axe-the-tampontax-bloodyoutrage/u/23384992">menstrual products</a>) which <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-03/tampon-tax-to-go-states-and-territories-agree-to-remove-gst/10332490">states and territories agreed to remove</a> come January 2019.</p>
<p>Change.org also boasts the petition for gender equality on <a href="https://www.change.org/p/kellogg-girls-should-be-equal-to-boys-in-advertising-kelloggs-nutrigrain-that-s-the-problem">cereal boxes</a> as a victory, after Kelloggs sent a statement they would be <a href="https://www.change.org/p/kellogg-girls-should-be-equal-to-boys-in-advertising-kelloggs-nutrigrain-that-s-the-problem">updating their packaging</a> in 2019 to include images of males and females. This petition only had 600 signatures, in comparison to the 75,000 against the tampon tax.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1047289418317484033"}"></div></p>
<p>In 2012, a coalition of organisations mobilised a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protests_against_SOPA_and_PIPA">campaign against two proposed US laws</a> that many saw as likely to restrict internet freedom. A circulating petition gathered 4.5 million signatures, which helped put pressure on US representatives not to vote for the bills.</p>
<p>However, all of these petitions were part of larger efforts. There have been campaigns to remove the tax on menstrual products since it was first imposed, there’s a broad movement for more equal gender representation, and there’s significant global activism <a href="https://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/4162/3282">against online censorship</a>. None of these petitions can claim sole victory. But they may have pushed it over the line, or just added some weight to the groundswell of existing support. </p>
<p>Online petitions can have the obvious impact of changing the very thing they’re campaigning for. However, the type of petition also makes a difference to what change it can achieve.</p>
<h2>Choosing a petition worth signing</h2>
<p>Knowing a few characteristics of successful petitions can be useful when you’re deciding whether it’s worth your time to sign and share something. Firstly, there should be a target and specific call for action. </p>
<p>These can take many forms: petitions might request a politician vote “yes” on a specific law, demand changes to working conditions at a company, or even ask an advocacy organisation to begin campaigning around a new issue. Vague targets and unclear goals aren’t well suited to petitions. Calls for “more gender equality in society” or “better rights for pets”, for example, are unlikely to achieve success.</p>
<p>Secondly, the goal needs to be realistic. This is so it’s possible to succeed and so supporters <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/7427430">feel a sense of optimism</a>. Petitioning for a significant change in a foreign government’s policy – for example, a call from <a href="https://www.communityrun.org/petitions/international-condemnation-of-us-lack-of-gun-laws-to-protect-its-citizens">world citizens</a> for better gun control in the US – is unlikely to lead to results.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-metoo-is-an-impoverished-form-of-feminist-activism-unlikely-to-spark-social-change-86455">Why #metoo is an impoverished form of feminist activism, unlikely to spark social change</a>
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<p>It’s easier to get politicians to change their vote on a single, relatively minor issue than to achieve sweeping legal changes. It’s also more likely a company will change its packaging than completely overhaul its approach to production. </p>
<p>Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, a petition’s chance of success depends largely on the strength of community supporting it. Petitions rarely work on their own. In her book <a href="https://www.twitterandteargas.org/">Twitter and Teargas</a>, Turkish writer Zeynep Tufekci argues the internet allows us to organise action far more quickly than in the past, outpacing the hard but essential work of community organising.</p>
<p>We can get thousands of people signing a petition and shouting in the streets well before we build coalitions and think about long-term strategies. But the most effective petitions will work in combination with other forms of activism.</p>
<h2>Change happens gradually</h2>
<p>Even petitions that don’t achieve their stated aims or minor goals can play a role in activist efforts. Sharing petitions is one way to bring attention to issues that might otherwise remain off the agenda.</p>
<p>Most online petitions include the option of allowing further updates and contact. Organisations often use a petition to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10361146.2018.1499010">build momentum around an ongoing campaign</a>. Creating, or even signing, online petitions can be a form of <a href="https://firstmonday.org/article/view/4653/3800#p7">micro-activism</a> that helps people start thinking of themselves as capable of creating change. </p>
<p>Signing petitions - and seeing that others have also done so - can help us feel we are <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15358593.2015.1089582">part of a collective</a>, working with others to shape our world. </p>
<p>It’s reasonable to think carefully about what we put our names to online, but we shouldn’t be too quick to dismiss online petitions as ineffective, or “slack”. Instead, we should think of them as one example of the diverse tactics that help build change over time.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/110029/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sky Croeser does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Even if nothing happens immediately, petitions are one of many ways we can help build long-term change.Sky Croeser, Lecturer, School of Media, Creative Arts and Social Inquiry, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/781662017-06-02T14:54:20Z2017-06-02T14:54:20ZCharting a course to government by the crowd, for the crowd<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171683/original/file-20170531-25676-a85713.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=204%2C106%2C6068%2C4025&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-top-view-young-people-putting-506137132?src=BroZFPtVUVMcRjBQsJdR3g-1-1">Jacob Lund/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It is a bitter irony that politicians lament the threat to democracy posed by the internet, instead of exploiting its potential to enhance the existing system. Hackers and bots may help to sway elections, but modern technology has allowed the power of the multitude to positively disrupt the world of business and beyond. Now, crowdsourcing should be allowed to shake up the lawmaking process to make democracies more participatory and efficient. </p>
<p>The crowd clearly can be harnessed, whether it is Apple <a href="https://hbr.org/2013/04/using-the-crowd-as-an-innovation-partner">outsourcing the creation of apps</a>, Wikipedia amassing an encyclopedia of unprecedented magnitude, or National Geographic searching for <a href="https://phys.org/news/2015-01-crowdsourcing-genghis-khan-tomb.html">the Tomb of Genghis Khan</a>. If we can agree that the most important factor of a responsive democracy is participation, then there must be a way to capitalise on this collective intelligence. </p>
<p>In fact, political participation hasn’t been this easy since the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/greeks/greekdemocracy_01.shtml">first days of democracy</a> in Athens 2,500 years ago. Modern social media can turn into a reality the utopian vision of direct civic engagement on a massive scale. Lawmaking can now be married to public consent through technology. The crowd can be unleashed.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171486/original/file-20170530-30127-rqjv55.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171486/original/file-20170530-30127-rqjv55.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171486/original/file-20170530-30127-rqjv55.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171486/original/file-20170530-30127-rqjv55.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171486/original/file-20170530-30127-rqjv55.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171486/original/file-20170530-30127-rqjv55.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171486/original/file-20170530-30127-rqjv55.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171486/original/file-20170530-30127-rqjv55.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A colourful crowd…</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/11271506886/in/photolist-ib2qiC-nmmLrg-Tby5Ve-29RVSQ-33u2Hp-nGRj3o-g46gq7-Rz54cs-5quzH2-JeuWPk-kqVK48-onw5WB-4Y8nQp-eF8Sxd-k2Lxij-vPgRGv-5eyS5v-oxuf1E-nKLYHh-qfmeBq-dMAE4U-pywAYY-ebWcNR-du35bh-gkf5kW-arRbww-bRZzXg-i7rW5M-5ABxCh-qboBTH-4SsYbH-fWaYRN-aDfnJ1-pUh2Tw-bguMAX-9gJhWD-eUsPAo-nswVy6-7y1Cis-a1P31U-6MhQPH-a1La66-8RXfx-dwCict-6bmUu3-arRavo-2ZzFLM-dMAEJ1-6sCmnu-s88twu">Thomas Hawk/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Sharing a platform</h2>
<p>Governments <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2716771">haven’t completely missed out</a>. Iceland used crowdsourcing to include citizens in its constitutional reform beginning in 2010, while petition websites are increasingly common and have forced <a href="https://petition.parliament.uk/help">parliamentary debates in the UK</a>. US federal agencies have initiated “national dialogues” on topics of public concern and, in many US municipalities, citizens can <a href="https://www.participatorybudgeting.org/">provide input on budget decisions</a> online and follow instantaneously whether items make it into the budget.</p>
<p>These initiatives show promise in improving what goes into and what comes out of the process of government. However, they are on too small a scale to counter what many believe to be a <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/06/26/the-collapse-of-the-liberal-world-order-european-union-brexit-donald-trump/">period of fundamental democratic disenchantment</a>. That is why government needs to throw its weight behind a full online system through which citizens can easily access all ongoing legislative initiatives and provide input during periods of public consultation. That is a challenge, but not mission impossible. Over 2016/2017 a little over 200 bills <a href="http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2016-17.html">were introduced</a> in the UK’s parliament.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171665/original/file-20170531-25676-fb32q6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171665/original/file-20170531-25676-fb32q6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171665/original/file-20170531-25676-fb32q6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171665/original/file-20170531-25676-fb32q6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171665/original/file-20170531-25676-fb32q6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171665/original/file-20170531-25676-fb32q6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171665/original/file-20170531-25676-fb32q6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171665/original/file-20170531-25676-fb32q6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Taking democracy beyond voting.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/european_parliament/14306538026/in/photolist-nNdKjJ-drYpvm-fEq4wg-drYMut-4iUkjG-fMs6mt-jdtjq1-drmY5y-eUWtj5-F3JWq-9JrLEW-eUWqrC-pjdaBk-pzbig-5zvSj4-619JZJ-8aB6HW-nS41jB-nQcSPS-drYWoW-4iwX5G-5m5jDY-5zrRmy-rNpAv-rRtJJ-6jgmy9-4rTTBN-8u5xF3-4rjhYh-8QQZUV-oZDr7K-drWaWr-ehnJQL-jM6r5Z-bwxRqg-drbmi3-nPYrnH-6RwTSm-rLRwa-dBFACs-nxMxYn-9JoWVt-s9yve-8Qnztw-8C6KHj-DVpx3q-phmDAd-eizN4C-8QfezY-5zxtFy">European Parliament/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It could put the power of participation in the hands of the people, and grant greater legitimacy to government. Through websites and apps, the public would be given an intuitive, one-stop shop for democracy, accessible from any device, and which allowed them to engage no matter where they were – on the beach or on the bus. Registered users would get notifications when new legislation was up for consultation. If the legislation were of interest, it could be bookmarked in order to stay updated.</p>
<p>Users would be able to comment on each paragraph of a draft. Moderators would curate the debate by removing irrelevant and inappropriate content and by continuously summarising the most important and common comments to head off an overflow of information. At the end of the consultation period, the moderators could summarise suggestions, concerns and praise in a memo available to policymakers and the public. </p>
<p>Clearly, such an ambitious project would be a learning process, subject to refinement and expansion. Later versions could include more complexity, enabling users to directly comment on others’ remarks, as well as backing the input of others through a rating system. The main relevant interest groups affected by legislation might be able to publish concise summaries of their position on the platform, as they do on ballot propositions in California or in submissions to parliamentary select committees in the UK. </p>
<h2>Innovative lawmaking</h2>
<p>The hope is that a platform like this can activate citizens’ voices and increase their sense of ownership in government. As far as direct democracy goes, referendums are blunt, divisive tools: this system could actually improve the quality of all laws – and all through the parliamentary system.</p>
<p>Sceptics may consider this optimistic. Can input from citizens really improve laws in this complex, data-driven age? I argue that it is precisely this complexity that requires input from more diverse sources than is the case in the current system. Properly targeted, crowdsourcing could deliver access to hundreds of thousands of experts: why not ask nurses about medical practice reform? It could also draw on insights from interested non-experts, who often hold the key to disruptive solutions in policymaking. Why would any government decline to unlock this potential? </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171678/original/file-20170531-25673-1imobj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171678/original/file-20170531-25673-1imobj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171678/original/file-20170531-25673-1imobj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171678/original/file-20170531-25673-1imobj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171678/original/file-20170531-25673-1imobj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171678/original/file-20170531-25673-1imobj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171678/original/file-20170531-25673-1imobj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171678/original/file-20170531-25673-1imobj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Who you gonna call?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bods/8590142822/in/photolist-eGzKL8-sgjRhJ-e65JbJ-eGzKQR-eGFSFj-eGFSos-9fApck-5adAjG-iuGaA5-re3kVo-ap1auw-hB8eFt-bGbZEt-bkezy9-9fA7a8-9fA8fD-9fAH9T-Ftpj-dATxNV-y1kGL-9fAsLp-6TcSDF-6aDqoS-5NheR-6Y3yj3-Kzbc9-9fEjcE-SmH296-SLns29-S35Scd-6gCaRE-4hkenG-8EDgyF">Andrew Bowden/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The broader ambition would be to create more engaged citizens. That raises the tricky question of rewarding participation. Hard cash won’t be an option, and so governments would need to focus on spurring citizens’ intrinsic motivation. <a href="https://hbr.org/2013/04/using-the-crowd-as-an-innovation-partner">Research on corporate crowdsourcing </a> shows that intrinsic motivation is best encouraged when participants can choose topics freely and according to their interests. This is why the platform should include all ongoing legislation, allowing citizens to find what resonates with them.</p>
<p>People used to just casting a vote every few years or reading the news would be given a completely new channel to engage with, even shape, the political system of their country. Ideally, something that has the appeal of a playful simulation would also give people the chance to truly grasp a law proposal, rather than relying on soundbites delivered through the media. That might prompt a more realistic appreciation of the work carried out by policymakers, not to mention a more informed public discussion. Another positive side effect may be that policymakers are forced to communicate their proposals more understandably, and make clear the intentions and goals. </p>
<p>But let’s not get carried away with the potential positives. Crowdsourcing democracy is not a sure-fire success. Politicians could turn this project into a shiny but insubstantial <a href="http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2008962_2008964_2009010,00.html">Potemkin village</a> of participation, or as one crowdsourcing scholar puts it, a “<a href="http://thefinnishexperiment.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Crowdsourcing_for_DemocracyF_www.pdf">benign, but meaningless</a>” way of attracting some good headlines. One way of preventing this would be for an independent public body to run the platform and hire the moderators. They would team up with experts from within government to ensure discussions on the platform were kept relevant. Costs could be kept under tight control. </p>
<p>Crowdsourcing holds the potential to activate citizens’ engagement with democratic processes and make laws more innovative. Instead of solely discussing social media as a threat to democracy and a catalyst of extremism, governments should finally start to harness the potential in collecting input from citizens.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78166/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nils Röper does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The internet has been the bogeyman of democracy over the last 12 months. It’s time to harness its power and redress the balance.Nils Röper, Doctoral researcher, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/618622016-06-30T12:28:59Z2016-06-30T12:28:59ZReferendum petition hack shows even democracy can be trolled<p>The electronic petition submitted to parliament calling for a second referendum on Britain’s exit from the European Union is a notable development in digital democracy. The number of signatories has passed 4m – how many will be required for it to represent a legitimate form of mass protest that deserves a political response? It’s certainly the most significant example of <a href="http://www.clicktivist.org/what-is-clicktivism/">clicktivism</a> the world has ever seen.</p>
<p>The internet has transformed the petition from a cumbersome pile of paper into a real-time gauge of disaffection from those too busy to gather together and paint banners and march, but sufficiently impassioned to follow a link on Facebook.</p>
<p>An online petition can be a viral mode of retribution, as was demonstrated by the recent controversy around the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-36414813">shooting of the gorilla Harambe in Cincinnati Zoo</a>. Although the parents of the child who fell into the gorilla’s enclosure were exonerated from accusations of neglect, many felt that the African-American family were only investigated following a <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/our-reaction-to-the-death-of-harambe-the-gorilla-and-the-black-toddler-who-was-saved-has-everything-a7059796.html">racially-motivated petition</a>.</p>
<p>However, e-petitioning is a form of legitimate protest with some notable successes: it <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/jul/05/bbc-6-music-saved">saved BBC Radio 6 Music</a>, and was behind the <a href="https://www.rt.com/op-edge/194820-nobel-peace-prize-objectivity/">nomination of Malalai Joya for the Nobel Prize</a>. But it appears increasingly vulnerable to misuse and manipulation. The House of Commons is now investigating the possibility that 77,000 of the signatures in favour of a second referendum <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/26/petition-for-second-eu-referendum-may-have-been-manipulated">were fraudulent</a>, with numerous signatories in unlikely locations such as Ghana and North Korea – hardly hotbeds of pro-European sentiment. The dead giveaway was perhaps the 39,000 signatures from the Vatican City, which has a total population of 800.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"747063424132255745"}"></div></p>
<p>According to former Tory MP Louise Mensch the culprits of this fraud were not fervent tech-savvy Remainers pushing the limits of democratic legality, but a <a href="http://heatst.com/uk/exclusive-brexit-2nd-referendum-petition-a-4-chan-prank-bbc-report-it-as-real/">murky group of malcontents from the website 4chan</a>. 4chan has around 22m users a month generating anarchic, tasteless, witty and at times poisonous comment. While many internet memes such as lolcat and rickrolling were created by the 4chan community, there is also a well-documented dark side – such as the <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/jennifer-lawrence-4chan-naked-pictures-hack-actress-explains-how-she-copes-a-year-after-stolen-a6731361.html">theft and spread of intimate photos of celebrities</a>. Hacking this petition marks a worrying trend, moving from targeting individuals to attempting to influence politics.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/128853/original/image-20160630-30632-1lvlti1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/128853/original/image-20160630-30632-1lvlti1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/128853/original/image-20160630-30632-1lvlti1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/128853/original/image-20160630-30632-1lvlti1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/128853/original/image-20160630-30632-1lvlti1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/128853/original/image-20160630-30632-1lvlti1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/128853/original/image-20160630-30632-1lvlti1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Actress Jennifer Lawrence, one of numerous women to have intimate pictures leaked on 4chan.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/9362868330/in/photolist-fgn9yj-ffG3oe-fg9pxT-iJgBna-iJgBzK-iGMdr1-deHtJg-deHtMD-deHt19-dUkB72-d8KBE1-dwWWr4-dXDfTd-dRKjik-aJ1mAF-d8sSdC-deHt5b-oTdnzM-y9Ypea-jzUCLp-jyZUep-p5sTz7-J4KKYY-Bu7EBe-fg7zPr-bs5Bky-bHSLBK-dKzRYZ-p67Qyy-zGpjfT-pcYxEm-yQe3if-bnmYpQ-bnmYrm-bnmYrW-iqg6uo-iqfXob-iqfS9K-vEmT1h-v173Sn-v17bCH-fgn8Xj-fg81in-w7ysSt-vPxK9Y-fg9kA6-vUDttf-vEmgZq-vPwMM5-vPE2Ja">Gage Skidmore/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>During the Euro 2016 tournament in France, Russian officials offered evidence that Russian fans in Marseille were provoked by English fans – but the Twitter posts given as evidence <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jun/16/russia-fake-euro-2016-violence-fans-twitter">were shown to be from false accounts</a>, and UK intelligence services suggested that the trail led back to the Kremlin. Russian president Vladimir Putin regards hacking, propaganda <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/05/europe-vladimir-putin-russia-social-media-trolls">and media manipulation</a> as a central part of his hybrid warfare against the West. As Islamic State has demonstrated, social media can be used not only as a means for propaganda but can also be weaponised into a medium for global terror.</p>
<p>This still doesn’t quite explain why 4chan users want to undermine democracy. Perhaps the answer lies in the site’s forum that goes under the innocuous name of /b/. Demos think-tank researcher, <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-dark-netinside-the-digital-underworld-by-jamie-bartlett-book-review-9696473.html">Jamie Bartlett</a>, identifies /b/ as part of the “dark net”, used as a base for the sort of extreme, aggressive trolling they call a “life ruin”. Life ruining is trolling whose intensity and technical ingenuity can all but destroy the life of the person targeted. Although /b/ makes up only a small proportion of 4chan activity, it is not unrepresentative of the sort of cruelty that takes place. So it was perhaps inevitable before those with such attitudes would find common cause with those with more nefarious political agendas. </p>
<p>In comparison, the trolling of democracy in the form of hacking the referendum petition is little more than just a prank. It’s obvious that demagogy is on the rise worldwide. In particular, the UK’s ill-advised referendum has shown that public opinion can easily be swayed by disinformation. While the fraudulent signatures on the petition are relatively few in number their presence is noxious: those 77,000 spammed signatories delegitimise the power of the 4m who have signed, prompting us to question the legitimacy of the rest.</p>
<p>With demagogues like UKIP’s Nigel Farage and US presidential hopeful Donald Trump capitalising on people’s prejudices and misconceptions, and legitimate politicians like Michael Gove and Boris Johnson <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/28/the-uk-needs-eu-experts-more-than-ever-now">mocking the world of facts and experts</a>, the potential exists for internet trolling to expand into a whole new dimension. In truth, cyber-bullying was never virtual. Its effects were always tangible and violent, only now they have moved out of the shadows and can be felt at a national level.</p>
<p>If a country can be swayed by a <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/eu-referendum-result-nigel-farage-nhs-pledge-disowns-350-million-pounds-a7099906.html">false statistic on the side of a bus</a>, imagine the result when the pranksters of 4chan realise that the trolls no longer need hide under the bridge awaiting their victims, but can now emerge onto the national stage and take their place along Farage, Trump, Le Pen and all the other monstrosities of our new politics of hate.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/61862/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>William David Watkin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When politics and political institutions are trolled by the internet, the outlook is grim.William David Watkin, Professor of Contemporary Philosophy and Literature, Brunel University LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/532572016-01-18T12:17:10Z2016-01-18T12:17:10ZRwanda: Paul Kagame is in line to stay in office until 2034<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108407/original/image-20160118-31807-8ycd7h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Rwandan president Paul Kagame has long benefited from the support of the US.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dfid/7557085872/in/photolist-cvN3m1-nmah6Q-nCr1qs-oTXGA1-7WCsj6-eqgjzu-pyVGCk-pyVDKB-pyZejH-pyVHJt-pNAmoJ-pQFP9K-pycgxK-pNAhYC-pNAhcC-pycim4-pNAiqE-pQL1ds-pQs5rT-77V5RD-71xtbE-bw7nL7-pycjZK-pyYd5S-pRbyda-pRqhPa-oUyP1f-pRuuX7-pPjJa5-oUBSwr-pRbxye-pz2cZs-pPjJ7j-pPjEWm-pRqfkc-pyYeqY-oUBRDV-pRuy8q-oUBQLH-pPjF2m-pyYhPG-pyZcNr-pRqdcV-pz28ZU-pyYezf-oUyM1y-pRbwk2-pRusML-pyVHzF-pyVFPg">DFID/Flickr</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>On 31 December 2015, in his greetings to the nation, Rwandan president Paul Kagame announced that he would run a third term.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>You asked me to continue to lead this country after 2017. Given its importance to you, I can only accept.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>A well-ordered strategy</h2>
<p>Kagame’s announcement, intended as much for international observers as for the people of Rwanda, was anything but spontaneous. Instead, it was the final step of a meticulously prepared political process that started in October 2014 when three satellite parties of Kagame’s Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) called for a revision of the constitution. At the time it limited the president to two seven-year terms.</p>
<p>Then, in February 2015 several prominent Rwandans published articles in support of Kagame in <em>The New Times</em>, the pro-government newspaper. They hailed the president’s achievements and expressed their desire for him to stay in office – Rwanda still needed him.</p>
<p>In mid-March, the mayor of Kigali, the country’s capital, indicated that according to regional officials, citizens were demanding a reform of the Constitution.</p>
<p>In late May, the Parliament announced that 2 million people had signed a petition asking that Kagame be given the possibility of running for a third seven-year term.</p>
<p>By June 15, the petition had 3.6 million signatures (out of 6 million voters), and the RPF came out in favour of the constitutional reform.</p>
<p>On July 14, Parliament voted unanimously the principle of a constitutional revision and formed a committee to propose a national referendum. A month later their report was presented to Parliament. It testified that the majority of the population wanted a constitutional amendment, and that only a dozen Rwandans would have voted against the project.</p>
<p>Taking their justification from the large number of petitions, on October 28 the Parliament approved the new law to be submitted to a referendum. It stipulates that the current president could run again in 2017 for another term. Then, in 2024 — year zero of the new Constitution — the seven-year term would be replaced by a five-year one, renewable once. This ingenious arrangement gives Paul Kagame the possibility of running for two new mandates in 2024. He thus could potentially stay in office until 2034.</p>
<p>Finally, on December 18, the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-phil-clark/rwanda-kagame-third-term-_b_8703166.html">following question</a> was put to the country’s 6.4 million voters:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Do you agree with the constitution of the Republic of Rwanda which was amended this year of 2015?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Of the responses, 98.9% were “yes”. Only the small Democratic Green Party, which has no members in Parliament, dared to protest, filing a petition in the Supreme Court against any reform of the Constitution. It was dismissed.</p>
<p>Throughout this operation, Kagame kept the country in suspense, not revealing his intentions, saying that he hadn’t decided.</p>
<h2>A well-controlled spontaneity</h2>
<p>This orderly and sophisticated campaign achieved its goal without a hitch. It culminated with the production of a “spontaneous” mass petition, a method portrayed by the authorities as a democratic consultation. All that then remained was to give legal form to the popular will with the triumphant referendum on December 18.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108022/original/image-20160113-10414-1c532v3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108022/original/image-20160113-10414-1c532v3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108022/original/image-20160113-10414-1c532v3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108022/original/image-20160113-10414-1c532v3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108022/original/image-20160113-10414-1c532v3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=627&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108022/original/image-20160113-10414-1c532v3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=627&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108022/original/image-20160113-10414-1c532v3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=627&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Kagame is increasingly being criticized abroad.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/un_photo/3952224716/in/photolist-qTNowf-nzVHwF-nzW7Ss-nxT6nd-nxT6Sb-nireXh-nzVGX4-nzFL2A-nzFMjL-nirdUW-nircKv-nBGMLV-nir3oM-9S1wAb-dPgEwP-dPmuDh-jtaz2T-jtavPa-jtdSiS-dPahhB-qCzV9m-72fbHs-pY91Mu-7dzVVT">UN Photos/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The widespread use of popular petitions has been singled out for criticism by international observers, even those who have regularly celebrated the “new Rwanda”. They point out that government control of local populations is sufficiently tight and that those who expressed opposition to a third term - and thus against the president - could be putting themselves in danger. Phil Clark, a lecturer at the University of London, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-phil-clark/rwanda-Kagame-third-term-_b_8703166.html">highlighted the “coercion”</a> being exercised over the population:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Rural Rwandans report that local authorities went house to house cajoling voters to sign the petition, which many did multiple times.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Indeed, <a href="http://uwpress.wisc.edu/books/4876.htm">research in Rwanda</a> describes how communities are tightly controlled by a web of local authorities. The result is a widespread surveillance system that allows for public displays of obedience only.</p>
<p>Kagame was appointed vice president in 1994 and chairman in 2000, then elected president in 2003 and 2010. Each time he has reportedly obtained more than 90% of the vote, and worked carefully to crush any open opposition by the elite or the public, using methods whose brutality has been regularly denounced by <a href="https://www.hrw.org/fr/world-report/2015/country-chapters/268129">human rights organizations</a>.</p>
<h2>In Washington, the end of the illusions?</h2>
<p>The US, Rwanda’s primary ally, has long denounced presidents for life. In July 2009 during a trip to Ghana, US President Barack Obama criticized African leaders who</p>
<blockquote>
<p>change their constitution to stay in power.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In July 2015 he <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/07/28/remarks-president-obama-people-africa">repeated his comments</a> while in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, saying that</p>
<blockquote>
<p>no one should be president for life.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>On September 4 the US State Department reacted negatively to the Rwandan Parliament’s decision to amend the Constitution and, on November 17, said that Kagame should <a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2015/11/249625.htm">honour his earlier promise to retire in 2017</a>.</p>
<p>None of these declarations had any apparent effect. In Kagame’s December 31 speech, he responded by contrasting <a href="http://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/article/2016-01-01/195757/">Rwanda’s public petitions with American legalism</a>: Exemplary behaviour will be for later. In the short term, the people have spoken.</p>
<p>On January 2 the State Department expressed the US’s “deep disappointment”, and the next day, Samantha Power, its ambassador to the United Nations, issued the following tweet: </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"683667528225275908"}"></div></p>
<p>In Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congo-Brazzaville, Burkina Faso, leaders wanting to repeal constitutional limits to their staying in office were met with strong resistance. The president of Burkina Faso was ousted last fall; the president of Burundi was overruled, plunging the country into a violent crisis.</p>
<p>In Rwanda, nothing of the sort. The authoritarian exercise of power is firmly established, especially in its ability to monitor and control local populations. Under such circumstances, with a campaign that was carefully controlled and put in place, it’s no surprise that the end result was a “popular victory”.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Translated from the French by Leighton Walter Kille.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/53257/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Claudine Vidal ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>Paul Kagame, the President of Rwanda, has carefully orchestrated a constitutional reform that allows him to remain in power for the next 18 years.Claudine Vidal, Directrice de recherches émérite au CNRS, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/449592015-08-28T01:07:32Z2015-08-28T01:07:32ZOnline petitions: a show of care undercut by ease of signing<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/90375/original/image-20150731-24504-exqdo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Online petitions almost certainly do not hold the same weight with their targets as offline petitions do.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>With the advent of the internet and proliferation of online petitions – organised by <a href="https://www.getup.org.au/">GetUp!</a>, <a href="https://www.change.org/">change.org</a> and others that pop up in our inboxes and Facebook walls – online petitions have flourished while written petitions have stalled. </p>
<p>Since 1987, the <a href="http://aes.anu.edu.au/publications/aes-trends">percentage of Australians</a> who have reported signing written petitions has fallen from 72% to 43%. But in the nine years since the Australian Election Study first asked about online petitions, the percentage of Australians who reported signing online has increased from 12% to 29%.</p>
<h2>Women sign more online petitions than men</h2>
<p>Women and men use the internet <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/DE28AB7779067AACCA257C89000E3F98?opendocument">in equal measure</a>, so the opportunities to sign an online petition should be gender-neutral – notwithstanding some <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2014/nov/25/social-networks-how-popular-are-they-with-each-gender">persistent gender differences</a> in the use of social networking platforms.</p>
<p>However, this is <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com.virtual.anu.edu.au/doi/abs/10.1080/10361146.2015.1049512#.VbWviaZKyf4">not the case</a>. Women in Australia are more likely to report having signed an online petition than men. Once other factors – such as educational level, household income and age – are taken into consideration, women are more than twice as likely as men to have signed an online petition.</p>
<p>Researchers have assumed – until now – that the high rates of women signing petitions could be explained by opportunity. Women have been more likely to be at home when a petition-bearer comes doorknocking, or at the supermarket to sign a petition en route to the carpark.</p>
<h2>The internet: where petitions go to die?</h2>
<p>Petitions are a staple of political expression in Australia. They have shaped <a href="http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/about/the-history-of-parliament/womens-suffrage-petition">government policy</a>, <a href="http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/bark-petitions-indigenous-art">society and culture</a> in the process. Close to 30,000 Victorian women signed a petition – later presented to state parliament – in 1891 demanding the right to vote.</p>
<p>The expanded opportunities to create and distribute petitions online have given voice to many worthy and previously marginalised causes – and others <a href="https://www.change.org/p/glastonbury-festival-cancel-kanye-west-s-headline-slot-and-get-a-rock-band">not so worthy</a>. It is easy and inexpensive to produce an email-ready petition – just Google “online petitions Australia” and note how many websites exist to get you started.</p>
<p>Online petitions also hold similar official status to written petitions. The Australian Senate has been <a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Procedure/2013/report1/c02">comparatively progressive</a> in accepting online petitions (printed out, for tradition’s sake) as tabled documents for almost 20 years. </p>
<p>However, as the costs to entry – that is, how hard it is for any individual to perform an activity – decrease, so too can the <a href="http://www.cpsa-acsp.ca/papers-2013/Vissers.pdf">expected benefits</a> of that activity. This problem is perhaps starkest in regard to email lobbying campaigns. </p>
<p>Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/youve-seen-the-future-and-it-a-works-b-is-just-a-load-of-spam/2005/08/05/1123125908850.html">commented</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>When you get 1000 emails, all in exactly the same form, it’s not exactly as persuasive as a bunch of emails people have written to independently express themselves.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>New South Wales Greens MLC Penny Sharpe <a href="http://www.pennysharpe.com/redleather/05/09/2011/5_tips_how_lobby_mp_and_not_be_ignored">warns</a> constituents: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>If you want your email read and responded to – original is better. When my Blackberry filled up this morning with exactly the same email I did two things. I set up a rule so the emails are diverted into a folder that I won’t look at again. I then drafted a standard response for automatic reply. For many MPs they will simply delete.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Online petitions face the same threat. There is currently no effective mechanism for sorting the important from the marginal, or the potentially effective from the doomed-to-go-unread. It is <a href="http://www.economist.com/node/18895468">not cognitively possible</a> for those being lobbied to process – much less act on – everything they are sent.</p>
<h2>Why do people sign online petitions?</h2>
<p>It is worth remembering that individuals possess <a href="http://csis.psych.umn.edu/projects/wdp.html">different motivations</a> for participating in politics. It may be that most people who sign a petition have “instrumental” motivations: they earnestly hope to change government policy.</p>
<p>Others may hope only to ignite a <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com.virtual.anu.edu.au/science/article/pii/S0747563213001611">public conversation</a> on an issue. Others may be content just to <a href="http://faculty.virginia.edu/lsanders/Sanders_APSA2001_final.pdf">express their voice</a> on a topic. For these people, there is utility in putting pen to paper, or fingers to keys; they have “expressive” motivations.</p>
<p>Others still just want to get their shopping to their car <a href="https://www.econ.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/diane_alexander_thesis.pdf">in peace</a>.</p>
<p>Online petitions almost certainly do not hold the same weight with their targets as do offline petitions. It takes time and effort to collect physical, pen-and-ink signatures. That effort is itself a signal that petition organisers are sending to the target. </p>
<p>Like it or not, online petitions send a certain signal to politicians and other leaders: we care, but maybe not enough to get off our seats.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/44959/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jill Sheppard does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Online petitions send a certain signal to politicians and other leaders: we care, but maybe not enough to get off our seats.Jill Sheppard, Research Officer, Australian Centre for Applied Social Research Methods (AusCen), Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/358682015-01-06T06:01:03Z2015-01-06T06:01:03ZChed Evans: the legality and ethics of hiring a convicted rapist<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68226/original/image-20150105-13823-11m35nr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ched Evans takes a drink while playing for Sheffield United in 2010.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/joncandy/4871602197/in/photolist-qD3BBj-4T2i8L-8queBk-8qudJk-q1Jc6g">Jon Candy</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the directors of Oldham Athletic football club <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/jan/05/ched-evans-oldham-pull-out-signing">consider their options</a> over the possible hiring of Ched Evans, the case of the convicted rapist trying to go back to work has thrown up a catalogue of questions around employment law, morality and responsibility. Ultimately, though, the motivating factor behind any return to football is likely to be far more prosaic.</p>
<p>On October 17 last year, Evans <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/video/2014/oct/22/ched-evans-releases-statement-rape-video">was released from prison</a> having served half of a five-year sentence for the rape of a 19-year-old woman in a hotel in May 2011. At the time of his conviction, Evans was a professional footballer employed by Sheffield United. Since his release, the former Manchester City trainee has sought to return to the game. </p>
<p>For Oldham, the intensity of the response to their expression of interest in signing Evans has come as a shock. More than 20,000 people have signed an online petition urging the club to not employ him. A director of one of Oldham’s main sponsors <a href="http://talksport.com/football/ched-evans-latest-oldham-sponsor-will-be-out-door-if-club-signs-striker-150105130946">has been quoted as saying </a> that if the club sign Evans, “we will be out of the door”.</p>
<p>Just prior to his release in October, Evans’ previous club Sheffield United admitted that talks had taken place about a possible return to the club. In a pattern similar to that now seen at Oldham, local MPs, <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/nick-clegg-ched-evans-should-not-be-allowed-back-to-training-9858128.html">such as the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg</a>, urged the club to reconsider, while sponsors threatened to end their commercial association with the Blades. An <a href="https://www.change.org/p/kevin-mccabe-chairman-of-sheffield-utd-football-club-refuse-to-reinstate-ched-evans-as-a-player-at-sheffield-united">online petition was supported</a> by more than 150,000 signatures demanding that Sheffield United not take Evans back. When Olympic champion and local hero <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/athletics/30425465">Jessica Ennis-Hill took a stand</a> the pressure ramped up and within a week, United had retracted the offer for Evans to train at the club. </p>
<p>In retracting that offer Sheffield United said it had done so following consultation with supporters, officials, staff and sponsors. The club would also have consulted its legal advisers. </p>
<p>The legal position on Evans is actually pretty clear. He is prevented from doing particular jobs known as <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/216900/Regulated-Activity-Adults-Dec-2012.pdf">“regulated activity”</a> and typically jobs such as teaching, social work or health care that would involve working with children or vulnerable adults. Other employment opportunities, such as professional football, are available to him – as long as he can find someone to hire him.</p>
<h2>Difficulties</h2>
<p>However, any employment contract with Evans would be a little unusual and would have to reflect the fact that he has been released on license. This means that both Evans and any employing club would have to have regular meetings with the probation service. Even then, special conditions might apply to his contract and he may be banned from certain places and working near certain people.</p>
<p>This last point raises difficult employment issues in the sense that an employing club has a duty of care to its existing employees who, particularly if female, might be uncomfortable working with Evans in their capacity as, for example, the club’s physiotherapist, psychologist or administrator. </p>
<p>And if Oldham were to go ahead with the signing, they would have to come to terms with the fact that they would be employing a sex offender. Evans, as with any sex offender punished with a two-and-a-half year jail sentence, is automatically <a href="http://ukcriminallawblog.com/2012/12/08/sex-offenders-register/">on the Sex Offenders Register</a> where he will remain for at least 15 years. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68227/original/image-20150105-13843-1qeajum.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68227/original/image-20150105-13843-1qeajum.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68227/original/image-20150105-13843-1qeajum.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68227/original/image-20150105-13843-1qeajum.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68227/original/image-20150105-13843-1qeajum.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68227/original/image-20150105-13843-1qeajum.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68227/original/image-20150105-13843-1qeajum.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68227/original/image-20150105-13843-1qeajum.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Balancing act.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/citizensheep/3613179465/in/photolist-qhaix-6vhunF-7iuye1-4hdF3-t2pj4-97Gb7T-oFMLsD-5AUSt7-doRQ7m-6bminB-bjXgHz-9SWV2C-kyp3v-8ay7cX-ei22wQ-kyp4E-df4vu5-bUjXg2-a7PCL5-6udia5-au7dHK-5qEmMW-4CCVd5-68BQZq-o4z93k-8S5zLf-4iSxJx-5E211Q-are7f7-4v8hTt-a5QJN-9ukSAr-9K5Vva-gZwVV7-9y3EeR-5jgYj2-6z1Je1-9C1C8N-4RUwzW-dveXaK-3qhgd-72e6Ss-ajzocM-8E1HC4-fEoyBV-61bwHc-JTVS7-xbpJr-ehey84-a7PAA9">Michael Grimes</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That means that Evans has to report to the police every year giving information about foreign travel, bank details and if he has a person under 18 in his house. More specifically, if he wants to travel abroad, he needs the permission of his probation officer. These conditions, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30662865">as the Ministry of Justice recently confirmed</a>, mean that, in effect, Evans is unlikely to able to work abroad despite an expression of interest from a club in Malta. </p>
<p>Ultimately however if a club in England and Wales wishes to sign Evans then, subject to probation, there is no bar on his return to football. And for many, the principle of rehabilitation must apply, or <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/dec/20/ronnie-moore-admits-hartlepool-united-interest-in-signing-ched-evans">as Hartlepool manager Ronnie Moore</a> said on December 20 when it appeared his club might sign Evans: “He served his time and the boy wants to play football”. </p>
<p>As Oldham ponder whether to take on Evans, three aspects are noteworthy. First, for many the issues for football surrounding Ched Evans are not legal but more moral or ethical in nature. Should footballers as role models be held to a higher standard that other employees? Or is that distinction unfair and should they simply be role models for what they do on the pitch rather than off it? </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68242/original/image-20150105-13816-tfkt6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68242/original/image-20150105-13816-tfkt6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68242/original/image-20150105-13816-tfkt6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68242/original/image-20150105-13816-tfkt6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68242/original/image-20150105-13816-tfkt6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68242/original/image-20150105-13816-tfkt6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68242/original/image-20150105-13816-tfkt6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68242/original/image-20150105-13816-tfkt6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Red mist over Oldham.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/diego_sideburns/9327367711/in/photolist-fdecsF-fdedjZ-fdedrT-geDp7x-f3Ue2U-6HjQZS-6HfNoi-f8YqtC-f8JauZ-ofcdAA-94r1Ez-ogWxPt-f35fHv-oJ8XQK-oNFA2f-pCaXRb-p1xxEb-pu6M4J-4uXuqS-oJ4bGM-oiSf6d-6HjF5u-dWF8LU-okBkq4-ofCTpv-iHFgC9-brUZRQ-dMS1k4-b8PjHx-pgeVZU-fahvik-fawH37-dQ6sMH-6HjQed-qipbAt-efeduE-efedxA-ef8u5D-ef8uxH-ef8tRT-ef8urp-efedNY-nZJyXZ-pSpBBh-7ZNmZe-9vm6ZG-7ZRwcN-7ZNnqz-7ZNo7Z-7ZNkKV/">Diego Sideburns</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In addition, football has permitted the return of those previously convicted of serious crime including Lee Hughes who was sentenced to six years imprisonment for causing death by dangerous driving <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/soccer-star-hughes-guilty-of-dangerous-driving-death-charge-6164124.html">following a fatal crash in 2003</a>. He returned to the professional game with Oldham Athletic after being released halfway through his sentence in August 2007. And what about <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2696973/Plymouth-Argyle-attack-appointing-killer-drink-driver-goalkeeper-clubs-new-captain.html">Plymouth Argyle FC re-signing Luke McCormick</a> in 2014, a player who had been jailed in 2008 for more than seven years after killing two young brothers in a drink driving crash?</p>
<p>The fact that Evans is still fighting his case has clearly helped to <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/11325399/Ched-Evans-Oldham-return-He-must-show-remorse-for-scumbag-behaviour.html">underpin support</a> for the campaigns to stop both Sheffield United and Oldham signing the player. He is awaiting a review of his case by the Criminal Cases Review Commission – for which the success rate is as low as 2%. But it is also likely that the key to the Evans case is that there is more stigma attached to sex offenders. </p>
<p>Finally, as the victim of the May 2011 rape continues to live in hiding – and in a year when reported rape statistics went up 30% – the reality that must be confronted is that at some point Evans will return to football. After time, the only statistic a club is likely to look at is that Evans scored 48 goals in 113 games for his last employer Sheffield United. Sadly, in the end the debate on Ched Evans’ return to football is likely to be that shallow.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/35868/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jack Anderson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As the directors of Oldham Athletic football club consider their options over the possible hiring of Ched Evans, the case of the convicted rapist trying to go back to work has thrown up a catalogue of…Jack Anderson, Professor of Sports Law, Queen's University BelfastLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.