tag:theconversation.com,2011:/institutions/davidson-college-2634/articlesDavidson College2024-01-17T13:36:23Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2208172024-01-17T13:36:23Z2024-01-17T13:36:23ZChef Bill Granger dies and leaves behind an inadvertent legacy – the avocado toast meme<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569130/original/file-20240112-25-mrzqwn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=12%2C25%2C4268%2C2818&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Is it avocado toast or high interest rates that have prevented so many young people from buying homes?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/avocado-butter-royalty-free-image/185328444?phrase=avocado+toast+illustration&searchscope=image%2Cfilm&adppopup=true">Josef Mohyla/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>On Christmas Day 2023, world-renowned Australian chef and restaurateur <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/dec/27/bill-granger-renowned-australian-cook-dies-aged-54">Bill Granger died at 54</a>. </p>
<p>Granger owned and operated 19 restaurants across Australia, the U.K., Japan and South Korea. He authored 14 cookbooks, produced several TV shows and was awarded <a href="https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/food-and-wine/how-bill-granger-conquered-the-world-s-breakfast-tables-20230307-p5cq7g">the Medal of the Order of Australia</a>.</p>
<p>But his lasting legacy may be his role in making avocado toast <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/28/dining/bill-granger-dead.html">a Western culinary staple</a> – and, inadvertently, the viral meme that transformed the open sandwich into a symbol of generational tension.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Man uses a spatula to flip pancakes in a frying pan." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569577/original/file-20240116-17-asgem0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569577/original/file-20240116-17-asgem0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=795&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569577/original/file-20240116-17-asgem0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=795&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569577/original/file-20240116-17-asgem0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=795&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569577/original/file-20240116-17-asgem0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=999&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569577/original/file-20240116-17-asgem0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=999&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569577/original/file-20240116-17-asgem0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=999&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">Bill Granger was renowned for adding a bougie twist to breakfast.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/australian-chef-bill-granger-cooks-pancakes-for-tasting-of-news-photo/72864230?adppopup=true">Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>The practice of spreading avocado on bread has existed for centuries, particularly in Central and South America. Some speculate it dates as far back as the 1500s, <a href="https://tastecooking.com/really-invented-avocado-toast/">when the Spanish settlers brought Western breads to Mexico</a>. But a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/05/06/how-the-internet-became-ridiculously-obsessed-with-avocado-toast/">2016 Washington Post article</a> pointed to Granger as the first person to put avocado toast on a menu, when he did so at his Sydney café, Bills, in 1993.</p>
<p>I love ordering the occasional avocado toast. But as a sociologist of the internet and social media, I’m most interested in the meme – its origins, how it became a point of contention and how it has ultimately muddied the waters of inequality. </p>
<h2>Avocado toast and the American dream</h2>
<p>On May 15, 2017, Australian real estate tycoon <a href="https://fortune.com/2023/09/13/australia-real-estate-ceo-tim-gurner-pain-in-economy-avocado-toast/">Tim Gurner</a> said <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/may/15/australian-millionaire-millennials-avocado-toast-house">in an interview</a>, “When I was trying to buy my first home, I wasn’t buying smashed avocado for $19 and four coffees at $4 each.”</p>
<p>Gurner’s comments implied that young people were not buying homes at the same rate as older generations due to their poor money management skills – unlike Gurner and his cohort, who understood the value of a buck and the importance of an honest day’s work. </p>
<p>No matter that minimal research revealed that Gurner’s nearly billion-dollar empire <a href="https://thiswastv.com/tim-gurner-parents/">began with financial assistance from his wealthy family</a>. The backlash on the internet was swift and searing, as Gurner became a stand-in for an entire out-of-touch generation who didn’t know how easy they had it.</p>
<p>Memes emphasized the fact that baby boomers, in general, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhe.2019.01.004">had an easier time becoming homeowners</a> compared to millennials, who largely came of age during the post-2008 economic downturn, which forced them to reckon with the crumbling remains of the American dream.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"910207147861983232"}"></div></p>
<h2>Generational tensions or class tensions?</h2>
<p>In their article “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/08969205211025724">A Sociological Analysis of ‘OK Boomer</a>,’” sociologists Jason Mueller and John McCollum describe how we’re in a period rife with confusions exacerbated by the internet. </p>
<p>They conclude that meme trends like “<a href="https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/ok-boomer">OK Boomer</a>” – a phrase that Gen Z popularized as an online retort to politicians and reporters who dismissed young people – reflect a world in which generational wars online coexist with class wars offline. The avocado toast meme works in a similar way.</p>
<p>In offline reality, <a href="https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w27123/w27123.pdf">there is some correlation between generations and wealth</a>. But generations are not what ultimately explain class inequality. </p>
<p>Instead, economic sociologists largely agree that a political emphasis on market “freedoms” and the concurrent paring back of programs that distribute resources have led to soaring economic inequality. These include laws that deregulated markets and privatized public spaces, as well as those that scaled back funding for health care, welfare, education and other government services. The policies first emerged under the umbrella of “<a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-soc-090220-025543">The Washington Consensus</a>” in the late 20th century. </p>
<p>For example, the <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/general/telecommunications-act-1996">Telecommunications Act of 1996</a>, rather than treating emerging internet technology as a public good, <a href="https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/14707">ensured the privatization of the internet</a>, paving the way for an online economy that profits off the attention and data of users.</p>
<p>Deregulation has created the conditions for today’s economic reality, in which many millennials and Gen Zers must work <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/REGE-08-2021-0153/full/html">precarious jobs in the gig economy</a>. They continue to struggle to buy homes and afford rent.</p>
<p>But importantly, many baby boomers face the same economic reality. Millions of them have been forced <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ajim.22694">to delay retirement</a>, particularly <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ajim.22694">if they’re from marginalized races and genders</a>. </p>
<p>In other words, the adverse impacts of class inequality leave no generation untouched.</p>
<h2>Illusions of separation</h2>
<p>So why does it feel like most baby boomers have it so easy?</p>
<p>Cultural theorist Mark Fisher, in his 2009 book “<a href="https://files.libcom.org/files/Capitalist%20Realism_%20Is%20There%20No%20Alternat%20-%20Mark%20Fisher.pdf">Capitalist Realism</a>,” describes this moment in history as one in which “hyperreality” prevails. </p>
<p>The term, coined by <a href="https://revistia.org/files/articles/ejis_v3_i3_17/Ryszard.pdf">French post-modernist Jean Baudrillard</a> in 1981, essentially describes a state in which simulations of reality appear more “real” than reality. </p>
<p>In his book “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Simulacra-Simulation-Body-Theory-Materialism/dp/0472065211">Simulacra and Simulation</a>,” Baudrillard uses the example of Disneyland to describe hyperreality. Many people would rather pay to go to Disneyland – a park built to mimic imaginary places – <a href="https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/destination-science-the-natural-world-outside-disney-world">than travel to national parks</a>, where they can experience nature for free or on the cheap.</p>
<p>The virtual world of the internet – with its own sets of cultural norms, language and memes – is the epitome of hyperreality.</p>
<p>And in the hyperreal world of the internet, as Mueller and McCollum discuss in their article about the “OK Boomer” meme, generational tensions take form.</p>
<p>Memes like avocado toast construct a state of generational conflict in the online world that is real, quite simply, because it feels real.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1011175349055623169"}"></div></p>
<p>Algorithms have every incentive to stoke this conflict. </p>
<p>That’s because online generational conflicts, along with most social media battles, <a href="https://theconversation.com/hate-cancel-culture-blame-algorithms-129402">are immensely profitable</a>. In “<a href="https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/virality">Virality: Contagion Theory in the Age of Networks</a>,” sociologist Tony Sampson concludes that viral content usually elicits strong emotional reactions.</p>
<p>When users, old and young, are angry with one another, and express that anger in the language of memes, social media platforms like X, formerly known as Twitter, get more engagement and make more money.</p>
<h2>Reframing avocado toast</h2>
<p>What Sampson finds, though, is that positive feelings also lead to virality.</p>
<p>So perhaps one way to honor Granger is to reclaim the avocado toast meme as an in-joke that nonmillionaires and nonbillionaires of all generations can relate to. </p>
<p>It’s about one billionaire’s absurd proposition that millennials eating a fleshy fruit on a piece of toast is preventing them from buying homes. It’s the billionaire divorced from the struggles of everyday people who’s out of touch – not an entire generation of boomers. </p>
<p>The avocado toast meme serves as a reminder that the hyperreal space of the internet distorts an offline reality in which generations share struggles, whether through housing insecurity or delayed retirements – a reality perpetuated by billionaires like Tim Gurner and the economic systems that serve their interests.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220817/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aarushi Bhandari 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>Granger, who died in December 2023, is credited with making avocado toast fashionable. Little did he know that his lasting legacy would inspire a meme that symbolized generational tension.Aarushi Bhandari, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Davidson CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2144412023-09-28T12:36:50Z2023-09-28T12:36:50ZTaylor Swift and the end of the Hollywood writers strike – a tale of two media narratives<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550689/original/file-20230927-29-ed9vu2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C17%2C3977%2C2632&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Taylor Swift cheers as the Kansas City Chiefs play the Chicago Bears on Sept. 24, 2023.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/taylor-swift-watches-during-a-regular-season-game-between-news-photo/1700723950?adppopup=true">David Eulitt/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>This fall, I’ve been starting my sociology classes by asking my students to share some uplifting news they’ve come across. </p>
<p>On Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023, they were abuzz about <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/av/entertainment-arts-66919232">Taylor Swift’s appearance at the Kansas City Chiefs game on Sunday</a>. Swift and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce had left Arrowhead Stadium together in Kelce’s convertible, confirming dating rumors. </p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=B2WlnYkAAAAJ&hl=en">As a scholar of the attention economy</a>, I wasn’t exactly surprised. Many of my students love Swift’s music, and the story had dominated major social media platforms like X, formerly known as Twitter, as a trending topic. </p>
<p>But I was taken aback when I learned that not a single student had heard that the Writers Guild of America <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/2023/09/24/writers-strike-agreement-wga-amptp/">had reached a deal</a> with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, or AMPTP, after a nearly 150-day strike. This <a href="https://www.wgacontract2023.org/WGAContract/files/Memorandum-of-Agreement-for-the-2023-WGA-Theatrical-and-Television-Basic-Agreement.pdf">historic deal</a> includes significant raises, improvements in health care and pension support, and – unique to our times – protections against the use of artificial intelligence to write screenplays. </p>
<p>Across online media platforms, the WGA announcement on Sept. 24, 2023, ended up buried under headlines and posts about the celebrity duo. To me, this disconnect felt like a microcosm of the entire online media ecosystem.</p>
<h2>Manufacturing consent online</h2>
<p>It almost goes without saying that news and social media platforms promote some stories and narratives over others. </p>
<p>This particular occurrence is fascinating, however, because the AMPTP represents some of the media conglomerates that directly disseminate news. For example, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/24/business/media/warner-bros-discovery-cnn-streaming-max.html">CNN is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery</a>, a member of the AMPTP. </p>
<p>At the time of this writing, CNN.com has <a href="https://www.cnn.com/search?q=wga&from=0&size=10&page=1&sort=newest&types=all&section=">three headlines</a> about the WGA strike and <a href="https://www.cnn.com/search?q=taylor&from=0&size=10&page=1&sort=newest&types=all&section=">eight headlines</a> about Swift at the Chiefs game. </p>
<p>Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky’s 1988 book “<a href="https://edisciplinas.usp.br/pluginfile.php/5537300/mod_resource/content/1/Noam%20Chomsky_%20Edward%20S.%20Herman%20-%20Manufacturing%20Consent_%20The%20Political%20Economy%20of%20the%20Mass%20Media-Bodley%20Head%20%282008%29.pdf">Manufacturing Consent</a>” outlines the problem of media ownership by conglomerates. According to this theory, powerful interests control narratives, in part, by owning news sources. </p>
<p>There’s a free press in the U.S. But Herman and Chomsky argue that the news that reaches everyday people tends to be framed by a set of assumptions that align with the ideological interests of the media corporations and their advertisers: maintaining the economic status quo and spurring consumerism. </p>
<p>In the U.S. today, <a href="https://techstartups.com/2020/09/18/6-corporations-control-90-media-america-illusion-choice-objectivity-2020/">six conglomerates own and control 90% of media outlets</a>.</p>
<p>Per Pew Research Center data, a majority of Americans <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/01/12/more-than-eight-in-ten-americans-get-news-from-digital-devices/">get their news from online sources</a>. Scholars have since adapted Herman and Chomsky’s propaganda model <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/John-Demuyakor/publication/348404543_The_Propaganda_Model_in_the_Digital_Age_A_Review_of_Literature_on_the_Effects_of_Social_Media_on_News_Production/links/606f00b2a6fdcc5f778e81e2/The-Propaganda-Model-in-the-Digital-Age-A-Review-of-Literature-on-the-Effects-of-Social-Media-on-News-Production.pdf">to explain how social media ecosystems function</a>.</p>
<p>The role of <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/94d7/4593f66af3675f6bd1a8fb3abd4e89e0d7e2.pdf">algorithms is a key focus</a> of emergent research on manufacturing consent online. Sociologist Ruha Benjamin’s work consistently shows that <a href="https://aas.princeton.edu/publications/research/race-after-technology-abolitionist-tools-new-jim-code">algorithms are encoded with their developers’ biases</a>. Other studies show that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2021.1994624">critiques about algorithmic biases are suppressed</a> by corporate digital media platforms through <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437221077174">strategies like shadow-banning</a>, which refers to covertly banning users of concern without their knowledge. These algorithms determine what is trending on websites like X. This, in turn, influences trends on other platforms, like Google searches.</p>
<p>Google trend results show an enormous increase in search queries about Travis Kelce since Sept. 20, 2023, with the WGA strike victory receiving almost no interest in comparison. The massive gap in interest between these topics serves as an example of algorithms supporting trending topics over other newsworthy content. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550730/original/file-20230927-21-lwplc4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Graph showing a spike in searches for Swift and Kelce." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550730/original/file-20230927-21-lwplc4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550730/original/file-20230927-21-lwplc4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=206&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550730/original/file-20230927-21-lwplc4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=206&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550730/original/file-20230927-21-lwplc4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=206&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550730/original/file-20230927-21-lwplc4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=259&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550730/original/file-20230927-21-lwplc4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=259&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550730/original/file-20230927-21-lwplc4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=259&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">A Google Trends graph shows online searches since Sept. 20, 2023, for ‘Travis Kelce,’ represented by the blue line, and ‘WGA,’ represented by the red line.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Aarushi Bhandari/Google Trends</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another key focus of the propaganda model for social media is <a href="https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/25880/1/1004203.pdf">targeted advertising</a>. </p>
<p>Unlike their predecessors in television, social media companies use “big data” to know users intimately and present ads that are personalized to each user. This strategy includes guerrilla marketing techniques like the ones employed by several companies after Swift’s appearance.</p>
<p>For example, the National Football League <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/nfl/taylor-swift-travis-kelce-nfl-jersey-sales-1.6978782">changed its X bio</a> to read “NFL (Taylor’s Version).” Sales of Kelce’s jersey <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/38496220/taylor-swift-effect-travis-kelce-jersey-sales-spike-nearly-400">skyrocketed in the few days</a> after Swift’s appearance at the Chiefs game. Hidden Valley Ranch changed its X handle to “Seemingly Ranch” after a Swift fan account noted that during the game, Swift had dipped her chicken fingers in “<a href="https://twitter.com/tswifterastour/status/1706076507540767211">seemingly ranch</a>.”</p>
<h2>Corporate media coverage of labor issues</h2>
<p>The muted coverage of the writers strike fits into <a href="https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9780875461854/through-jaundiced-eyes/#bookTabs=1">a longer historical pattern</a> of tension between labor movements and corporate media. </p>
<p>In many cases, corporate media has <a href="https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9780801488870/framed/#bookTabs=1">framed disproportionately negative narratives</a> about strikes and union activities. </p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0160449X9902300402">an analysis of media coverage</a> of tensions between the United Auto Workers and General Motors from 1991-93 found that major newspapers, including The New York Times, consistently framed GM’s position in a positive light, while crafting significantly more negative stories about the strike and autoworkers. <a href="https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9780801488870/framed/#bookTabs=1">Similar patterns are visible</a> in media reporting on the 1993 American Airlines flight attendant strike and the 1997 United Parcel Service strike. </p>
<p>When not covering labor issues in a negative light, corporate media has a track record of ignoring and minimizing these issues. Communications scholar Jon Bekken’s meta-analysis of media coverage discovered <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20141222211416id_/http://javnost-thepublic.org:80/article/pdf/2005/1/5/">substantial drops in coverage of labor issues</a> by major outlets like the Chicago Tribune, The New York Times and CBS throughout the 1990s and into the 21st century.</p>
<p>This historical dynamic is <a href="https://read.dukeupress.edu/labor/article/19/3/77/318130">beginning to change</a>. Increasing <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/510281/unions-strengthening.aspx">public support for labor unions</a> and worker action have made it difficult to ignore the bubbling currents of organized labor across many industries, from <a href="https://sbworkersunited.org/strike-with-pride">Starbucks</a> to <a href="https://theintercept.com/2023/09/26/uaw-strike-big-three-reputation/">autoworkers</a>. </p>
<p>Today, <a href="https://perfectunion.us/americans-broadly-support-the-uaw-strike-regardless-of-party/">58% of Americans support the ongoing United Auto Workers strikes</a> against GM, Ford and Stellantis, the company that makes Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles.</p>
<p>Despite corporate ownership and biased algorithms, labor movements have managed to secure public support, demonstrating that Americans are increasingly aware of their own class interests. During such a fraught political climate for the economic status quo, the WGA victory is a major indicator that strikes work.</p>
<p>So, amid these tensions, a feel-good story about Taylor Swift and football is a gift to media executives – and one that helps sell more ranch dressing, too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214441/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aarushi Bhandari 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>What does it say about the online media ecosystem when the end of a 146-day strike is buried under headlines and posts about Swift’s budding romance with NFL star Travis Kelce?Aarushi Bhandari, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Davidson CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2093252023-08-04T12:28:12Z2023-08-04T12:28:12ZTaylor Swift’s Eras Tour is a potent reminder that the internet is not real life<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540883/original/file-20230802-19-bmnrpl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=604%2C1233%2C4162%2C2500&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Swift performs at Gillette Stadium on May 19, 2023, in Foxborough, Mass., during her Eras Tour.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/taylor-swift-performs-onstage-during-taylor-swift-the-news-photo/1491637582?adppopup=true">Scott Eisen/TAS23 via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the weeks leading up to June 16, 2023, when I attended the Pittsburgh leg of <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/taylor-swift-gives-bonuses-totaling-215418698.html">Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour</a>, the online chatter about the 33-year-old singer had become draining. </p>
<p>The internet was ablaze with rumors about <a href="https://theconversation.com/rooting-for-the-anti-hero-how-fans-turned-taylor-swifts-short-relationship-with-matty-healy-into-a-political-statement-207108">Swift dating Matty Healy</a>, the lead singer of the English pop-rock band The 1975. Some Swifties – the term used for diehard Taylor Swift fans – berated the pop superstar for dating Healy, who’d become mired in controversy for appearing on a podcast whose hosts <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-1975-matty-healy-ice-spice-apology-1234721163/">made racist comments about the rapper Ice Spice</a>. </p>
<p>As the Pittsburgh leg of the tour approached, I wondered if I were about to dive headfirst into an angry mob of tens of thousands of Swifties. </p>
<p>On the day of the show, Acrisure Stadium was mobbed with 72,000 people, but the Swifties in attendance were far from angry. </p>
<p>In that moment we became deeply connected by our shared love and admiration for Swift’s music. Sociologist Emile Durkheim described this phenomenon as “<a href="https://doi.org/10.15195/v6.a2">collective effervescence</a>,” the unique surge in feeling when large groups of people come together for a shared purpose. </p>
<p>“It was rare, I was there, I was there,” Swift belted out during “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OQBDdNHmXo">All Too Well</a>.” </p>
<p>I was there, too, as life events touched by Swift flashed by: sitting at my first desktop computer as a teenager in Kathmandu, Nepal, replaying “Love Story” on LimeWire; my first week in the U.S., during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, when <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/8/26/20828559/taylor-swift-kanye-west-2009-mtv-vmas-explained">Kanye West infamously interrupted Swift</a>; how Swift’s eighth studio album, “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/26/arts/music/taylor-swift-folklore-review.html">Folklore</a>,” brought me back to life after it seemed as if the world were on the verge of imploding in 2020. </p>
<h2>Collective delusion</h2>
<p>The Eras Tour was not my first experience of collective effervescence. Nor was it the first time I felt such a strong disconnect between the online and offline worlds. </p>
<p>Right before the pandemic began, there was the painfully quiet fizzling out of the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/08/us/politics/bernie-sanders-drops-out.html">Bernie 2020 movement</a>. As a volunteer for that campaign, I had the remarkable experience of connecting with other Americans who wanted a Bernie Sanders presidency. </p>
<p>I especially appreciated how this role connected me to the people who make up the Nepali diaspora in the U.S. We hoped to improve our immigrant experiences, whether it involved no longer fearing the deportation of loved ones <a href="https://berniesanders.com/issues/">or easier access to health care</a>.</p>
<p>But then repeated news cycles about “<a href="https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-02-19/bernie-sanders-supporters-toxic-online-culture">toxic Bernie Bros</a>” seemed to drain the movement’s momentum. Mainstream media outlets reported that Sanders’ base was <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/03/04/metro/intractable-bernie-bros-what-they-might-mean-sanders-campaign/">made up of white male cyberbullies</a>. Negative tweets had been amplified, and the words and behaviors of a few Sanders supporters all of a sudden were being portrayed as representative of an entire movement.</p>
<p>The contrast between what was being said online versus my own experiences was jarring: Here I was working to find transportation for 80-year-old Nepali grandmas who didn’t speak English but wanted to vote for Sanders. </p>
<p>Post-election analysis would show that the Bernie Bro <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/myth-white-bernie-bro-has-quietly-vanished-n1276377">trope was entirely constructed</a>; there was no evidence to show that young white men made up a majority of Sanders’ supporters. The movement, in fact, consisted of a diverse <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/bernie-sanders-powered-by-diverse-liberal-coalition-forces-a-reckoning-for-democrats/2020/02/23/d6a15766-5641-11ea-9000-f3cffee23036_story.html">coalition of people from marginalized races and genders</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Women clap and hold blue 'Bernie' signs." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540887/original/file-20230802-8013-x6v564.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540887/original/file-20230802-8013-x6v564.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540887/original/file-20230802-8013-x6v564.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540887/original/file-20230802-8013-x6v564.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540887/original/file-20230802-8013-x6v564.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540887/original/file-20230802-8013-x6v564.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540887/original/file-20230802-8013-x6v564.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">Supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders cheer during a Get Out to Caucus Rally in Las Vegas, Nev., on Feb. 21, 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/supporters-hold-bernie-placards-as-democratic-presidential-news-photo/1202571834?adppopup=true">Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A vocal minority sets the agenda</h2>
<p>Online narratives distort real life more often than you might realize. </p>
<p>Research consistently shows that a small minority of people who have social media accounts post the vast majority of content. </p>
<p>In what’s termed the “<a href="https://www.nngroup.com/articles/participation-inequality/">90-9-1 rule</a>,” 90% of users on these websites only “lurk” or read content, 9% of the users reply or re-post with occasional new contributions, and only 1% of the users frequently create new content. </p>
<p>Pioneered by Jakob Neilson, the 90-9-1 rule is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.invent.2014.09.003">one of many theories</a> within internet studies that describe participation rates, and different scholars find support for different variations of this rule. Reddit, for example, has <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/443332/reddit-monthly-visitors/">over 1 billion</a> monthly active users, but according to a 2017 conference paper, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321063802_Predicting_User-Interactions_on_Reddit">an overwhelming majority of Reddit users are lurkers</a>. X, the website and app formerly known as Twitter, had <a href="https://www.bankmycell.com/blog/how-many-users-does-twitter-have">around 350 million</a> users as of 2023; however, research from 2019 found that 75% of its users <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3308560.3316705">were lurkers</a>.</p>
<p>In other words, most of the discussions happening on websites like Reddit and Twitter come from a vocal minority of users – <a href="https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/n5d9j">whose posts are then curated and boosted by algorithms</a>.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, in the past decade, the news media have increasingly constructed narratives about collective reality based on what happens in these websites. </p>
<p>Of course, toxic online behavior exists in all online communities. But it represents the words of a smaller minority of users within the already small minority of people who post content online. Media narratives that emphasize certain groups as toxic based on online behavior – whether they are describing fandom or politics – fall into the trap of confusing the internet with real life.</p>
<p>In the weeks when Swift was dating Healy, a vocal minority of Swifties came head-to-head with <a href="https://whatstrending.com/hosts-of-the-adam-friedland-show-explain-matty-healy-comments-after-they-resurfaced-online/">a vocal minority of Healy’s defenders</a>. Then the celebrity pair ended their relationship, and collective attention moved on from that topic almost immediately. </p>
<p>Several weeks of nonstop debate, attacks and hand-wringing ended up being utterly meaningless – except to social media companies that converted this brief obsession into clicks, engagement and ad revenue.</p>
<p>My forthcoming book, “<a href="https://www.davidson.edu/people/aarushi-bhandari">Attention and Alienation</a>,” brings renewed focus to an increasingly demystified phenomenon: The online <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.5195/JWSR.2023.1100">attention economy</a> maximizes profits by designing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/beq.2020.32">algorithms that boost engagement</a>, particularly by promoting negativity and outrage.</p>
<h2>Oligarchy of the ‘extremely online’</h2>
<p>Sometimes the consequences of mistaking the internet for real life are dire.</p>
<p>Take reproductive health. Online rage about <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/06/24/1102305878/supreme-court-abortion-roe-v-wade-decision-overturn">the Supreme Court’s decisions to overturn Roe. v. Wade</a> <a href="https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=today%203-m&geo=US&q=roe%20v%20wade&hl=en-US">peaked within a few days</a> and people moved on to different topics. </p>
<p>Today, reports about reproductive health care take up <a href="https://news.google.com/search?q=roe%20v%20wade&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen">very little news media space</a> compared with garden-variety trending topics <a href="https://news.google.com/search?for=barbenheimer&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen">like “Barbenheimer”</a> – the double blockbuster release of the movies “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” on July 21, 2023.</p>
<p>In the real world, many people continue to suffer from lack of access to lifesaving reproductive health care <a href="https://reproductiverights.org/maps/abortion-laws-by-state/">across the U.S.</a>, while the online chattering class celebrates the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/jul/23/barbie-review-greta-gerwig-margot-robbie-ryan-riotous-candy-coloured-feminist-fable">radical feminism of the “Barbie” movie</a>. </p>
<p>Perhaps it’s time to sideline social media and the internet when evaluating the nature of our collective reality. Reality exists outside of our devices, whereas social media algorithms push whatever keeps us tethered to the screen. There is little evidence to support the idea that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/cccr.12097">online discourse represents collective experiences</a>.</p>
<p>That might be easier said than done: <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/06/27/twitter-is-the-go-to-social-media-site-for-u-s-journalists-but-not-for-the-public/">94% of journalists say they</a> use social media for their jobs.</p>
<p>But as an internet researcher – and Taylor Swift fan – I am hopeful that experiences like the Eras Tour will wake up more people to the fact that human beings are more united than social media algorithms would have us believe.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209325/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>I was a volunteer for the Bernie 2020 campaign. </span></em></p>Media outlets increasingly construct narratives about collective reality based on what’s happening on social media.Aarushi Bhandari, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Davidson CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1864522022-07-22T12:29:30Z2022-07-22T12:29:30ZHow a 1989 poster became a fixture on the front lines in the battle over abortion rights<p>For abortion rights advocates, Barbara Kruger’s iconic feminist image “<a href="https://www.thebroad.org/art/barbara-kruger/untitled-your-body-battleground">Untitled (Your body is a battleground)</a>” remains as relevant today as when it was first released in 1989.</p>
<p>Following the <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/02/supreme-court-abortion-draft-opinion-00029473">May 2, 2022, leak</a> of Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito’s anti-abortion draft decision, <a href="https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=2022-04-24%202022-05-08&geo=US&q=barbara%20kruger">Google searches for Kruger spiked</a>. <a href="https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=2022-06-17%202022-07-01&geo=US&q=barbara%20kruger">Searches spiked again</a> after the official ruling was released on June 24, 2022. </p>
<p>A leading pioneer of <a href="https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/themes/pop-art/appropriation/">appropriation art</a>, Kruger leveraged her skills as a graphic designer to make works of art from readily available images. Art critic Isabelle Graw <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/20711456">describes Kruger’s signature style</a> as “grainy black-and-white photographs with a typical typeface (Futura Bold Italic) in red-and-black blocks of text-like color fields.”</p>
<p>Riffing off <a href="https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/culture-magazines/1980s-print-culture">the print culture of the 1980s and 1990s</a>, Kruger’s art combined images and text to parody advertisements that used a <a href="https://miro.medium.com/max/1400/1*kFkcrWgXg8-a-BwZBy9bgA.png">second-person voice</a> to entice potential consumers. </p>
<p>In “<a href="https://www.thebroad.org/art/barbara-kruger/untitled-your-body-battleground">Untitled (Your body is a battleground)</a>,” Kruger slightly altered the photograph of the original sitter. By splitting this subject’s face into positive and negative halves, Kruger shows how anti-abortion activists cut battle lines into women’s bodies.</p>
<p>Kruger’s original poster has seamlessly transitioned to social media, inspiring a new generation of media-savvy reproductive justice artists and activists.</p>
<h2>Dissemination and evolution</h2>
<p>In 1989, the Supreme Court reviewed a 1986 case related to a Missouri law that hindered access to abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy. The law also restricted the use of public funds and buildings for abortion counseling and procedures. Abortion-rights activists responded with a planned <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1989/04/09/us/abortion-marchers-gather-in-capital.html">March for Women’s Lives</a> in Washington. </p>
<p>In the early morning hours before the march, Kruger and some of her students illegally plastered New York City with flyers featuring “Untitled (Your body is a battleground).” The original flyer provided logistical information about the march and details about the upcoming Supreme Court case.</p>
<p>Kruger <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt5hj75h.18">also used the same image</a> in another 1989 poster. That version, commissioned by the French government on the bicentennial of the French Revolution, appeared with the French text “Savoir C'est Pouvoir,” which translates to “Knowledge is Power” and recalls the <a href="https://daily.jstor.org/consciousness-raising-groups-and-the-womens-movement/">consciousness-raising</a> strategies of 1970s feminism. </p>
<p>Since then, variations of “Untitled (Your body is a battleground)” have been exhibited in various forms and languages in museums and galleries. They’ve also popped up on mugs, T-shirts and other merchandise.</p>
<p>Kruger has been involved in some of this dissemination, including the 1990 billboard variation commissioned by The Ohio State University’s Wexner Center for the Arts, which installed it <a href="https://publicartfund.tumblr.com/post/26832733541/barbara-kruger-multi-year-public-art-fund-artist">adjacent to an anti-abortion billboard</a> in Columbus.</p>
<p>In 2019, in response to <a href="https://www.guttmacher.org/article/2019/12/state-policy-trends-2019-wave-abortion-bans-some-states-are-fighting-back">continued legislative assaults on abortion rights</a>, Kruger made a <a href="https://youtu.be/1HXJ2eYCnxI">video version</a> of the “Battleground” image, updating the original work to reflect the proliferation of digital media. After the leak of the majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson, she again altered it for the cover of the May 9, 2022, issue of New York Magazine.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1523636371470045184"}"></div></p>
<p>Regarding the revised New York Magazine cover text – “Who becomes a ‘MURDERER’ in post-Roe America?” – Kruger <a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/barbara-kruger-body-battleground-2112283">predicted</a> that the ruling will create a dilemma: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“The issue of who gets charged with ‘murder’ will be a challenge for the right to finesse … Is the ‘little lady’ capable of making that decision, or does the doctor or medical facility do the time or worse because the woman can’t possibly be capable of making the decision on her own?” </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Activists take the baton</h2>
<p>For decades, activists have relied on Kruger’s aesthetics. In some cases, they’ve repurposed her actual artwork. In others, they’ve simply borrowed stylistic elements. </p>
<p>In 1991 and 1992, the Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art in Warsaw produced <a href="https://obieg.pl/en/209-barbara-kruger-s-poster-and-the-frontline-in-the-culture-war">a Polish-language version</a>. When the Polish courts <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/22/world/europe/poland-tribunal-abortions.html">outlawed</a> nearly all abortions in 2020, the TRAFO Center for Contemporary Art in Szczecin launched another poster campaign. In 2021, the organization Sanitation First India released a “Krugerizing” selfie filter for Instagram to promote <a href="https://origin.dazeddigital.com/beauty/article/52935/1/star-in-your-own-barbara-kruger-artwork-to-support-menstrual-education">Menstrual Hygiene Day</a>.</p>
<p>Recent responses to Dobbs v. Jackson draw on Kruger’s characteristic text-and-image dissemination tactics. </p>
<p>In New York City, anonymous activists have twice hung large <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/06/27/1107717283/abortion-rights-green-symbol">green banners</a> with text in white, capital, sans serif letters. They draped a 30-foot-tall sign proclaiming “ABORTION = LIBERTY” from the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty and <a href="https://twitter.com/OskarNupia/status/1540434969562071041">later from the Manhattan Bridge</a>. Less than a week later, <a href="https://www.metrotimes.com/news/activists-cover-anti-abortion-billboard-with-pro-choice-message-in-detroit-30456163">a banner with a similar aesthetic</a> covered a anti-abortion billboard in Detroit, asserting, “<a href="https://www.metrotimes.com/news/activists-cover-anti-abortion-billboard-with-pro-choice-message-in-detroit-30456163">WE WILL AID & ABET ABORTION</a>.” Visually, the work borrows directly from Kruger’s “<a href="https://i0.wp.com/totally-la.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/who-buys-the-con.jpg?resize=960%2C641&ssl=1">Untitled (Who Buys The Con?)</a>.”</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1542941337128951808"}"></div></p>
<p>Like Kruger, artist Alicia Eggert has also chosen a medium associated with advertising for her activist artwork. In her installation piece “<a href="https://news.cvad.unt.edu/faculty-eggert-alicia-ours-sign">OURS</a>,” she uses pink neon signs that flash three phrases: “OUR BODIES,” “OUR FUTURES” and “OUR ABORTIONS.” </p>
<p><a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/02/04/abortion-rights-planned-parenthood-neon-art-alicia-eggert">She installed it</a> on the steps of the Supreme Court building in January 2022 to mark the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, and the work continues to travel around the country.</p>
<h2>The importance of public art</h2>
<p>Kruger’s images inspire viewers around the world because they exist outside of the elite spaces of museums and galleries. </p>
<p>Writer and poet Adam Heardman cites the importance of situating political art in <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/habermas/#EarDevHabIntPubSphRea">the public sphere</a>. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.proquest.com/artbibliographies/docview/2509694831/abstract/F9EB8B918F3F40DDPQ/4">Heardman writes</a> that Kruger saw the concentration of corporate power as a direct threat to individuals, particularly women and minorities. To resist corporate America’s efforts to create a single, homogeneous consumer, she wrested advertising tactics from them to quickly and effectively communicate the hopes and fears of marginalized people, enabling the voices of those demanding justice to go viral.</p>
<p>Given the battle ahead to regain the right to abortion, we expect many more artists and activists to draw from Kruger’s work for inspiration, strategy and strength.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Sign with black and white image of woman." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473927/original/file-20220713-9316-rrzb69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473927/original/file-20220713-9316-rrzb69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473927/original/file-20220713-9316-rrzb69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473927/original/file-20220713-9316-rrzb69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473927/original/file-20220713-9316-rrzb69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473927/original/file-20220713-9316-rrzb69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473927/original/file-20220713-9316-rrzb69.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">A protester holds a sign featuring ‘Star Wars’ character Princess Leia made in the style of Kruger’s iconic ‘Battleground’ poster.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/portrait-of-carrie-fisher-as-princess-leia-is-displayed-news-photo/1240707306?adppopup=true">Erin Clark/The Boston Globe via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186452/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Barbara Kruger’s ‘Untitled (Your body is a battleground)’ has seamlessly transitioned to social media, inspiring a new generation of media-savvy artists and activists.John Corso-Esquivel, Associate Professor of Art History, Davidson CollegeLia Rose Newman, Curator and Director of the Van Every/Smith Galleries, Davidson CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1691482021-10-05T12:46:42Z2021-10-05T12:46:42ZCe que signifie le retour de Gbagbo en politique pour la Côte d'Ivoire<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/424716/original/file-20211005-29-15ceqxq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C924%2C616&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">L'ancien président Laurent Gbagbo pourrait être le rassembleur pour le mouvement d'opposition en Côte d'Ivoire. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sia Kambou/AFP via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Début août, l'ancien président de la Côte d'Ivoire, Laurent Gbagbo, a émis l'idée de créer un <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210810-ivory-coast-s-gbagbo-announces-push-for-new-party">nouveau parti politique</a>. Les commentaires de Gbagbo ont été faits lors de son retour en Côte d'Ivoire le 26 juin, après avoir été traduit en justice devant la Cour pénale internationale pendant près de 10 ans.
En juillet 2019, la Cour l'a <a href="https://www.icc-cpi.int/cdi/gbagbo-goude">acquitté</a> des accusations de crimes contre l'humanité, y compris de meurtres, de viols et d'« autres actes inhumains » commis pendant les violences postélectorales de 2010-2011. </p>
<p>Le retour de Gbagbo a été scellé lorsque la chambre d'appel de la Cour a confirmé son acquittement en mars 2021. Le président Alassane Ouattara lui a alors accordé un <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ivorycoast-politics-gbagbo/ivory-coast-gives-passport-to-exiled-former-president-gbagbo-idUSKBN28E1Y0">passeport diplomatique</a>.</p>
<p>L'annonce de Gbagbo confirme son désir d’influer sur la politique dans un pays où l'opposition est divisée et où le président est critiqué pour son troisième mandat. </p>
<p>La perspective de voir surgir un nouveau parti politique avec la bénédiction de Gbagbo pourrait unifier l'opposition et constituer un redoutable défi pour Ouattara et sa coalition au pouvoir. Ce qui pourrait donner un regain d'intérêt pour la participation politique qui a regressé avec les défaites et les boycotts successifs de l'opposition.</p>
<h2>Les principaux partis</h2>
<p>Il y a trois principaux partis politiques en Côte d’Ivoire : <a href="https://fpi-ci.com/">le Front populaire ivoirien</a>, le Rassemblement des Républicains de Ouattara et son partenaire de coalition, <a href="https://pdcirda.ci/">le Parti démocratique de la Côte d'Ivoire - Rassemblement démocratique africain</a>.</p>
<p>Dans les années 1990, sous Gbagbo, le Front populaire ivoirien était le principal parti d'opposition. Après le coup d'État militaire de 1999 et le gouvernement de transition présidé par le général Robert Guéï, la puissance du parti de Gbagbo et le manque d'alternatives ont permis à celui-ci de remporter l'élection présidentielle de 2000. </p>
<p>Le Front populaire ivoirien a gouverné jusqu'aux élections présidentielles contestées de 2010. Les résultats du second tour de l’élection, rejetés par Gbagbo, ont été à l'origine du conflit.</p>
<p>Lorsque le parti était au pouvoir, des divergences internes sont apparues sur la politique à mener et sur la manière de traiter les rebelles pendant la guerre civile qui a éclaté en 2002. Certains membres souhaitaient que la Côte d'Ivoire prenne ses distances vis-à-vis de la France, tandis que d'autres se montraient plus conciliants ; certains voulaient négocier un accord avec les rebelles, tandis que d'autres cherchaient à gagner la guerre militairement.</p>
<p>Lors des élections de 2010, les divisions se sont accentuées. Les partisans de la ligne dure proches de Gbagbo ont insisté pour qu'il tienne bon et refuse de transférer le pouvoir à Ouattara. D'autres membres du parti affirment qu'ils avaient exprimé leur soutien à un gouvernement de partage du pouvoir comme au <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/40864715">Kenya et au Zimbabwe</a>.</p>
<h2>L’arrestation de Gbagbo</h2>
<p>Le désaccord le plus important entre les dirigeants du parti portait sur la façon de gérer le statut de Gbagbo au sein du parti après son arrestation et son inculpation par la Cour pénale internationale. Certains dirigeants ont exhorté le parti à éviter de mener des activités politiques sans la présence de son porte-étendard, Gbagbo, car ils pensaient qu'il reviendrait au pays et reprendrait sa place sur le plan politique. </p>
<p>D’autres, quant à eux, ont cherché à poursuivre les activités et à remplacer Gbagbo à la tête du parti. Pascal Affi N'Guessan, ancien premier ministre dans les années 2000, est ainsi devenu le chef du parti, mais il s’est heurté à la résistance des alliés de Gbagbo.</p>
<p>Contrairement à ce dernier, N'Guessan n'était pas un homme politique populaire dans son parti. Gbagbo et ses alliés ont déclaré que N'Guessan <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210810-ivory-coast-s-gbagbo-announces-push-for-new-party">prenait</a> le Front populaire ivoirien « en otage, foulant aux pieds des années de sacrifice de militants et de militantes du parti ».</p>
<p>Sous la direction de N'Guessan, le parti n'a pas réussi à obtenir une audience et une influence politique d’envergure. Bien que de nombreux petits partis d'opposition aient boycotté les élections de 2015, N'Guessan a obtenu un faible score de 9,3 % des voix contre 83,7 % pour Ouattara. Le premier a, par la suite, été autorisé à se présenter aux élections de 2020, tandis que Gbagbo en a été exclu à cause de la procédure judiciaire en cours. Les partis d'opposition, dont celui de N'Guessan, ayant boycotté les élections de 2020, Ouattara a obtenu un troisième mandat sans adversaires.</p>
<h2>Vacance du pouvoir</h2>
<p>Le boycott met en évidence le vide laissé par l'opposition depuis l'élection contestée de 2010. Selon les fidèles de Gbagbo, ce vide ne peut être comblé que par lui. Ce débat reflète des tendances plus lourdes par rapport à la place qu'occupent les partis politiques ivoiriens. Au cours des cinq dernières années, la reconfiguration a évolué, 57 % des Ivoiriens <a href="https://afrobarometer.org/sites/default/files/publications/Sommaire%20des%20r%C3%A9sultats/cdi-r8-sor_2019.pdf">indiquant</a> ne pas se sentir proches d'un parti politique.</p>
<figure class="align- ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421189/original/file-20210914-27-1kb6jvq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421189/original/file-20210914-27-1kb6jvq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421189/original/file-20210914-27-1kb6jvq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421189/original/file-20210914-27-1kb6jvq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421189/original/file-20210914-27-1kb6jvq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421189/original/file-20210914-27-1kb6jvq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421189/original/file-20210914-27-1kb6jvq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Source : Enquête Afrobaromètre, série 5 - 8</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>.</p>
<p>Les citoyens sont, par ailleurs, de plus en plus critiques à l'égard des partis au pouvoir et de l'opposition. La confiance dans les partis au pouvoir, nettement inférieure à 50 %, a chuté à 41 % en 2019 et la confiance dans les partis d'opposition a largement stagné pendant l'absence de Gbagbo.</p>
<figure class="align- ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421190/original/file-20210914-21-16gf5t2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421190/original/file-20210914-21-16gf5t2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421190/original/file-20210914-21-16gf5t2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421190/original/file-20210914-21-16gf5t2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421190/original/file-20210914-21-16gf5t2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421190/original/file-20210914-21-16gf5t2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421190/original/file-20210914-21-16gf5t2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Source : Enquête Afrobaromètre, série : 5 - 8</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>.</p>
<p>Même si la confiance en Ouattara est légèrement en deça de 50%, le parti au pouvoir ne se montre vraiment pas à la hauteur des attentes. </p>
<p>Ces dernières années, la reconfiguration se manifeste également dans les préférences électorales des citoyens. Le soutien au Rassemblement des Républicains de Ouattara s’est réduit au fur et à mesure que ce dernier a ficelé des alliances politiques sous la bannière du Rassemblement des Houphouëtistes pour la Démocratie et la Paix, qu’il a mis en avant pour les élections. Les partis d'opposition ont stagné, le Front populaire ivoirien n'ayant reçu que 12 % des soutiens autoproclamés selon l'enquête Afrobaromètre de 2019.</p>
<figure class="align- ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421191/original/file-20210914-17-14acj40.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421191/original/file-20210914-17-14acj40.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421191/original/file-20210914-17-14acj40.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421191/original/file-20210914-17-14acj40.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421191/original/file-20210914-17-14acj40.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421191/original/file-20210914-17-14acj40.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421191/original/file-20210914-17-14acj40.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Source : Enquête Afrobaromètre, série 5 - 8</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Cette reconfiguration donne aux nouveaux mouvements et personnalités politiques (ou d'anciennes personnalités qui s'inventent une nouvelle virginité) l'opportunité d'attirer les électeurs désabusés. Ces dernières années, au moins un <a href="https://afrobarometer.org/sites/default/files/publications/Sommaire%20des%20r%C3%A9sultats/cdi-r8-sor_2019.pdf">cinquième des Ivoiriens ont déclaré</a> qu'ils ne voteraient pas et un sur dix a indiqué qu'il ne savait pas pour qui voter.</p>
<figure class="align- ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421193/original/file-20210914-13-1q4tvkg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421193/original/file-20210914-13-1q4tvkg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421193/original/file-20210914-13-1q4tvkg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421193/original/file-20210914-13-1q4tvkg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421193/original/file-20210914-13-1q4tvkg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421193/original/file-20210914-13-1q4tvkg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421193/original/file-20210914-13-1q4tvkg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Source : Enquête Afrobaromètre, série 5 - 8</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Cette désaffection qui ne s'est pas encore traduit sous forme de mouvement d'opposition cohérent continue probablement de contribuer à l'apathie actuelle. De plus, il y a un décalage entre le rejet d'un troisième mandat présidentiel et la réalité du troisième mandat en cours de Ouattara, et Gbagbo cherche à exploiter ce mécontentement.</p>
<h2>Perspectives d'un nouveau parti</h2>
<p>L'intérêt manifesté par Gbagbo pour la création d'un nouveau parti donne la possibilité de réinventer l'opposition politique dans le pays et de forger de nouvelles alliances. N'Guessan et ses alliés insistent sur le fait que toute prise de contrôle du Front Populaire Ivoirien par Gbagbo serait illégale et <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210810-ivory-coast-s-gbagbo-announces-push-for-new-party">emblématique</a> d'une politique autocratique. </p>
<p>Il n'est pas certain qu'un parti soutenu par Gbagbo s'en sortirait mieux que le Front Populaire Ivoirien. Toutefois, avec le retrait ultime de Ouattara de la scène politique et le mécontentement croissant, le retour de Gbagbo en politique pourrait conduire à une plus grande participation politique. </p>
<p>Une autre éventualité est que le retour de Gbagbo contribuerait à intensifier les récents efforts accomplis par les pays francophones pour réévaluer leur relation avec la France et nouer de nouvelles relations continentales, comme en témoigne le <a href="https://allafrica.com/stories/202107050758.html">récent voyage de Gbagbo en République démocratique du Congo</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/169148/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Penar is affilié avec l'organisation Leaders of Africa Institute. </span></em></p>L'intérêt manifesté par l'ancien président Laurent Gbagbo pour la création d’un nouveau parti donne la possibilité de ré-imaginer la politique d'opposition en Côte d'Ivoire.Peter Penar, Director of the Leaders of Africa Institute and Research Affiliate with Davidson College, Davidson CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1670002021-09-15T14:03:49Z2021-09-15T14:03:49ZGbagbo returns to politics. What it means for Côte d’Ivoire<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420653/original/file-20210912-27-5bjhbb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Former president Laurent Gbagbo may be a rallying figure for opposition movement in Cote d'Ivoire. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sia Kambou/AFP via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In early August the former president of Côte d’Ivoire, Laurent Gbagbo, floated the idea of creating a <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210810-ivory-coast-s-gbagbo-announces-push-for-new-party">new political party</a>. Gbagbo’s comments came after his return to Côte d’Ivoire on 26 June after nearly 10 years of facing charges at the International Criminal Court. </p>
<p>In July 2019, the court <a href="https://www.icc-cpi.int/cdi/gbagbo-goude">acquitted</a> him of crimes against humanity, including murder, rape and “other inhuman acts” during the 2010-2011 post-election violence. </p>
<p>Gbagbo’s return was sealed when the court’s Appeals Chamber confirmed the acquittal in March 2021. And President Alassane Ouattara gave him a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ivorycoast-politics-gbagbo/ivory-coast-gives-passport-to-exiled-former-president-gbagbo-idUSKBN28E1Y0">diplomatic passport</a>.</p>
<p>Gbagbo’s announcement confirms his interest in exercising political influence in a country where the opposition is divided and the president faces criticism for obtaining a third term. </p>
<p>The prospect of a new political party with Gbagbo’s blessing could unify the opposition and pose a formidable challenge to Ouattara and his ruling coalition. It is also likely to enhance political participation and interest, which has trailed off during successive opposition defeats and boycotts.</p>
<h2>Party divisions</h2>
<p>Côte d’Ivoire has three main political parties: the Front Populaire Ivoirien, Ouattara’s Rassemblement des Républicains and its coalition partner the Parti Démocratique de la Côte d'Ivoire - Rassemblement Démocratique Africain.</p>
<p>During the 1990s, under Gbagbo, the Front Populaire Ivoirien was the main opposition party. After the 1999 military coup and the interim leadership of General Robert Guéï, the party’s strength and a lack of alternatives allowed Gbagbo to win the 2000 presidential election. </p>
<p>The Front Populaire Ivoirien ruled until the disputed 2010 elections. The source of the dispute was the presidential run-off election results, which Gbagbo refused to accept.</p>
<p>While the party was in government, there were internal differences on policy and how to deal with the rebels during the civil war that began in 2002. Some members wanted Côte d’Ivoire to distance itself from France, while others were more conciliatory. Some wanted to negotiate a settlement with the rebels while others sought to win the war militarily.</p>
<p>During the 2010 election, the divisions became more serious. Hardliners close to Gbagbo insisted that he dig in and refuse to transfer power to Ouattara. Others in the party claim to have expressed their support for a power-sharing government like those in <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/40864715">Kenya and Zimbabwe</a>.</p>
<h2>Gbagbo’s arrest</h2>
<p>The most relevant disagreement among party leaders was about how to deal with Gbagbo’s status in the party after his arrest and indictment at the International Criminal Court. Some leaders encouraged the party to avoid political activities without Gbagbo as their flag bearer. They believed he would return to the country and reestablish his political position. </p>
<p>Other party leaders sought to press ahead with activities and replace Gbagbo as the head. Pascal Affi N'Guessan, a former prime minister during the 2000s, became the head but faced resistance from Gbagbo allies.</p>
<p>Unlike Gbagbo, N’Guessan was not a popular politician in his party. Gbagbo and his allies have stated that N’Guessan <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210810-ivory-coast-s-gbagbo-announces-push-for-new-party">held</a> the Front Populaire Ivoirien “hostage, trampling on years of sacrifice by the men and women who are party activists”.</p>
<p>The party under N'Guessan’s leadership has failed to gain broad-based resonance and political influence. Despite many smaller opposition parties boycotting the 2015 elections, N’Guessan garnered a meagre 9.3% to Ouattara’s 83.7% of the vote. N’Guessan was subsequently approved to run in the elections in 2020 while Gbagbo was barred due to the ongoing court proceedings. Opposition parties, including N'Guessan’s, boycotted the 2020 election and Ouattara won a third-term election without competition.</p>
<h2>Power vacuum</h2>
<p>The boycott highlights the opposition vacuum since the 2010 disputed election. According to Gbagbo loyalists, the vacuum can only be filled by him. But the debate reflects deeper trends of political party alignment in Côte d’Ivoire. In the last five years, the realignment has accelerated, with 57% of Ivorians <a href="https://afrobarometer.org/sites/default/files/publications/Sommaire%20des%20r%C3%A9sultats/cdi-r8-sor_2019.pdf">indicating</a> that they do not feel close to a political party.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421189/original/file-20210914-27-1kb6jvq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421189/original/file-20210914-27-1kb6jvq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421189/original/file-20210914-27-1kb6jvq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421189/original/file-20210914-27-1kb6jvq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421189/original/file-20210914-27-1kb6jvq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421189/original/file-20210914-27-1kb6jvq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421189/original/file-20210914-27-1kb6jvq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Figure 1: Close to a Political Party.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Source: Afrobarometer Survey, Round 5 - 8</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Citizens are also increasingly critical of ruling and opposition parties. Ruling party trust is firmly under 50% and declined to 41% in 2019. Trust in opposition parties has largely stagnated during Gbagbo’s absence.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421190/original/file-20210914-21-16gf5t2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421190/original/file-20210914-21-16gf5t2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421190/original/file-20210914-21-16gf5t2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421190/original/file-20210914-21-16gf5t2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421190/original/file-20210914-21-16gf5t2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421190/original/file-20210914-21-16gf5t2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421190/original/file-20210914-21-16gf5t2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Figure 2: Trust in Ruling and Opposition Parties.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Source: Afrobarometer Survey, Round 5 - 8</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Although trust in Ouattara is just shy of a majority (50%), the ruling party significantly underperforms. </p>
<p>The realignment also shows in citizens’ voting preferences over the past ten years. Ouattara’s Rassemblement des Républicains has seen a decline in support as Ouattara has cobbled together political alliances under the Rassemblement des Houphouëtistes pour la Démocratie et la Paix banner, which Ouattara emphasizes as his electoral vehicle. Opposition parties have stagnated. The Front Populaire Ivoirien received only 12% of self-reported support in the 2019 Afrobarometer survey.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421191/original/file-20210914-17-14acj40.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421191/original/file-20210914-17-14acj40.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421191/original/file-20210914-17-14acj40.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421191/original/file-20210914-17-14acj40.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421191/original/file-20210914-17-14acj40.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421191/original/file-20210914-17-14acj40.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421191/original/file-20210914-17-14acj40.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Figure 3: Self-Reported Vote Choice.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Source: Afrobarometer Survey, Round 5 - 8</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The party realignment offers an opportunity for new political movements and new (or old turned new) political figures to capture disaffected voters. In recent years, at least a <a href="https://afrobarometer.org/sites/default/files/publications/Sommaire%20des%20r%C3%A9sultats/cdi-r8-sor_2019.pdf">fifth of Ivoirians reported</a> that they would not vote and one in ten said they did not know who they would vote for.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421193/original/file-20210914-13-1q4tvkg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421193/original/file-20210914-13-1q4tvkg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421193/original/file-20210914-13-1q4tvkg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421193/original/file-20210914-13-1q4tvkg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421193/original/file-20210914-13-1q4tvkg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421193/original/file-20210914-13-1q4tvkg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421193/original/file-20210914-13-1q4tvkg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Figure 4: Self-Reported Vote Choice.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Source: Afrobarometer Survey, Round 5 - 8</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The discontent is yet to find a home in a cohesive opposition movement and is likely helping to drive the present apathy. Moreover, there is a disconnect between a rejection of a third-term president and the reality of the present third term for Ouattara. Gbagbo seeks to tap into this discontent.</p>
<h2>Prospects of a new party</h2>
<p>Gbagbo’s interest in forming a new party reflects an opportunity to re-imagine opposition politics in the country. It also reflects opportunities to forge new alliances. N’Guessan and his allies insist that any Gbagbo takeover of the Front Populaire Ivoirien would be illegal and <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210810-ivory-coast-s-gbagbo-announces-push-for-new-party">emblematic</a> of autocratic politics. </p>
<p>It is not clear whether a Gbagbo-sponsored party would fare better than the Front Populaire Ivoirien. But with Ouattara’s eventual exit from the political scene and with growing discontent, Gbagbo’s return to politics could lead to greater political participation. </p>
<p>It is also possible that Gbagbo’s return will accelerate recent efforts among Francophone countries to reevaluate their relationship with France and shape new continental relationships, as seen with Gbagbo’s <a href="https://allafrica.com/stories/202107050758.html">recent trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167000/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Penar is affiliated with the Leaders of Africa Institute.</span></em></p>Former president Laurent Gbagbo’s interest in forming a new party reflects an opportunity to re-imagine opposition politics in Cote d’ Ivoire.Peter Penar, Director of the Leaders of Africa Institute and Research Affiliate with Davidson College, Davidson CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/609102016-06-15T09:50:14Z2016-06-15T09:50:14ZFathers also want to ‘have it all,’ study says<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126609/original/image-20160614-22411-5onv6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Dads need support, too.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Have you seen the T-shirt slogan: Dads don’t babysit (it’s called “parenting”)?</p>
<p>This slogan calls out the gendered language we often still use to talk about fathers. Babysitters are temporary caregivers who step in to help out the parents. But the fact is that fathers are spending more time with their children than ever before. In fact, <a href="http://men-care.org/soaf/">American fathers today</a> spend 65 percent more time with their children during the workday than they did 30 years ago.</p>
<p>According to the <a href="http://www.whenworkworks.org/be-effective/resources/national-study-of-the-changing-workforce">2016 National Study of the Changing Workforce</a>, almost half of fathers in heterosexual relationships say they share caregiving responsibilities equally or take on a greater share of caregiving than their partner.</p>
<p>This week we witnessed the release of the first <a href="http://men-care.org/soaf/">State of America’s Fathers</a>, a report that draws on numerous social science research studies as well as new analysis of the 2016 National Study of the Changing Workforce. </p>
<p>As a sociologist who studies fatherhood worldwide, I think the most important message of this report is a simple one: Fathers are parents, too. </p>
<p>But dads’ desire to “have it all,” as we once talked about in relation to working mothers, means that they are also having difficulties successfully combining work and family. The report, among other things, suggests that we need to pass paid, non-transferable, job-protected leave. I agree.</p>
<h2>Work-life balance is important to men, too</h2>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126642/original/image-20160615-22408-1ru8i53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126642/original/image-20160615-22408-1ru8i53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126642/original/image-20160615-22408-1ru8i53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126642/original/image-20160615-22408-1ru8i53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126642/original/image-20160615-22408-1ru8i53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126642/original/image-20160615-22408-1ru8i53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126642/original/image-20160615-22408-1ru8i53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126642/original/image-20160615-22408-1ru8i53.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">American dads are spending more time with their children.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/f5wwhN">Harsha K R/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The State of America’s Fathers report highlights that a majority of fathers experience work-life conflict, and that this has increased over time. For example, <a href="http://familiesandwork.org/site/research/reports/newmalemystique.pdf">60 percent of fathers</a> in dual-earner families say they have problems balancing work and family, compared to 35 percent of such fathers in 1977.</p>
<p>This is likely due to the fact that a majority of fathers feel they don’t spend enough time with their children. This situation may be due to the continued pressures on men to earn a good income. According to <a href="http://www.whenworkworks.org/be-effective/resources/national-study-of-the-changing-workforce">the 2016 National Study of the Changing Workforce</a>, 64 percent of Americans feel that fathers should contribute financially even if taking care of the home and children. Millennials are just as likely to agree with this statement as baby boomers. </p>
<p>In my own research published in my book <a href="http://nyupress.org/books/9780814749166/">“Superdads,”</a> fathers continually expressed frustration at not being able to balance work and family. It’s no longer a question of whether fathers want to be more active in their children’s lives, but how they will do so when workplace and government policies do not offer the support necessary.</p>
<h2>Men need work-life policies as much as women</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126644/original/image-20160615-22404-14c4auj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126644/original/image-20160615-22404-14c4auj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126644/original/image-20160615-22404-14c4auj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126644/original/image-20160615-22404-14c4auj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126644/original/image-20160615-22404-14c4auj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126644/original/image-20160615-22404-14c4auj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126644/original/image-20160615-22404-14c4auj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Striking a balance is work for men, too.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">KONCENSUS/flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A big part of the problem is that the workplace has not really adjusted to working women and caregiving men. </p>
<p>Instead the idea of the <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11162-012-9256-5#/page-1">ideal worker</a>, someone (usually a man) who can focus entirely on work while a partner (usually a woman) takes care of everything else, still holds power among employers. But the State of America’s Fathers report reveals that most workers have some family responsibilities, and only a minority of families fit the “traditional” breadwinner father, homemaker mother model. Only 20 percent of couples live off of one income. This means that most fathers have partners, female or male, who also work, and more single fathers have shared or primary custody of their children. These men do not have the choice to push off caregiving onto someone else.</p>
<p>Like working mothers, working fathers face stigma when they seek greater flexibility in the workplace. A very similar number of fathers (43 percent) and mothers (41 percent) think asking for flexibility could have a negative impact on their careers.</p>
<p>In addition, there is <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/josi.12015/abstract">evidence</a> that leave-taking negatively impacts chances of promotion, frequency of raises, and performance evaluations, and these penalties are stronger for men than women. Men who seek flexibility are even seen as <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/josi.12016/abstract">less masculine</a>.</p>
<h2>The benefits of father involvement</h2>
<p>Why should we be so concerned about men’s ability to balance work and family? </p>
<p>The simple answer is that fathers who take leave and spend more time with their children are really good for their families. Their <a href="http://www.fira.ca/cms/documents/29/Effects_of_Father_Involvement.pdf">children benefit</a> from better cognitive, behavioral, psychological and social outcomes. </p>
<p>According to the State of America’s Fathers report, these fathers also pave a path toward greater gender equality as their sons are more accepting of gender equality while their daughters feel more empowered. Their partners benefit because they are more likely to be satisfied with their relationships and less likely to experience <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740901001372">postpartum depression</a>. They are also more able to focus on their own careers, which has the potential to benefit the larger economy as well, with one estimate showing an <a href="http://www.strategyand.pwc.com/media/file/Strategyand_Empowering-the-Third-Billion_Full-Report.pdf">increase of 5 percent in GDP</a> if women’s labor force participation rate equaled men’s rate. <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2001.00381.x/abstract">Fathers themselves benefit</a> by engaging in healthier behaviors and creating more ties to family and community.</p>
<p>And in the end, men are just as capable of caring for children as women. It is the act of providing direct care for a child that increases one’s capacity for caregiving. Men’s <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/111/27/9792.abstract">body chemistry</a> reacts the same way as women’s to close physical contact with infants. In other words, fathers show similar hormonal changes, and this means they can experience similar levels of bonding with their children.</p>
<h2>Paid parental leave could help</h2>
<p>In an analysis of policies in 185 countries, the International Labour Organization finds that the <a href="http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_242615.pdf">U.S. is only one of two countries</a> that does not guarantee paid parental leave. In fact, the <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/12/12/among-38-nations-u-s-is-the-holdout-when-it-comes-to-offering-paid-parental-leave/">U.S. ranks dead last among 38 OECD nations</a> in government-supported time off for new parents. </p>
<p>Our only national policy, the <a href="https://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/">Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993</a>, offers up to 12 weeks of leave, but in addition to being unpaid, it only covers about three-fifths of workers due to a number of restrictions. The act only applies to employers with 50 or more employees and only covers employees who have worked for that employer for at least one year. Additionally, 20 percent of employers that are required to comply with the FMLA offer fewer than 12 weeks of leave to employees who are spouses/partners of new mothers (mainly fathers), in direct violation of the law. Amazingly, <a href="https://www.dol.gov/wb/PaidLeave/PaidLeave.htm">only 12 percent</a> of U.S. workers in the private sector have access to paid family leave, and this applies to a paltry <a href="https://blog.dol.gov/2015/06/08/lack-of-paid-leave-compounds-challenges-for-low-wage-workers/">5 percent for low-income workers</a>.</p>
<p>Worldwide paternity leave is becoming more prevalent, with <a href="http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_242615.pdf">71 countries</a> now offering it. Fathers are most likely to take leave when it is specifically designated for them. Around <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2011/02/23/failing-its-families/lack-paid-leave-and-work-family-supports-us">90 percent of fathers in Nordic countries</a> take leave. </p>
<p>These programs may seem out of reach, but we have seen successful paid leave in the U.S. Funded by a very small payroll tax of 0.9 percent, California’s groundbreaking Paid Family Leave program helped new parents spend more time caring for their children. At the same time most employers have seen no cost increases or abuse and in fact witness <a href="http://cepr.net/documents/publications/paid-family-leave-1-2011.pdf">less turnover</a> as employees are able to care for their new children and return to work.</p>
<p>We are also starting to see more models of paid leave among <a href="http://men-care.org/soaf/">companies</a> such as Ernst & Young, Facebook and Twitter, but I would argue we need something more far-reaching. The FAMILY Act, for example, proposed by U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York to provide up to 12 weeks of paid leave, is a start.</p>
<p>This will help fathers to have it all, and be the parents they want to be.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/60910/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gayle Kaufman served as a reviewer for the State of America's Fathers report. </span></em></p>Like moms, more dads are sweating the work-life balance. While just 35 percent of dads reported such conflicts in 1977, today 60 percent struggle to bring up baby while bringing home the bacon.Gayle Kaufman, Professor of Sociology, Davidson CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.