From Spectatorship to Citizenship: Televised Supreme Court Presidential Election Petitions and Public Perceptions of Judicial Legitimacy in Nairobi, Kenya

Judicial transparency reforms assume that institutional visibility not only builds public trust but also activates democratic citizenship. Yet whether courtroom broadcasting actually produces civic engagement gains remains largely untested empirically. This article examines whether watching Kenya�...

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Autores principales: Sanday, Alfred wandera, King'ara, George Ngugi, Kiilu, Tommy Kibera
Formato: Artículo revista
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Universidad Nacional de Rosario 2026
Materias:
Domestic Political Institutions
International Court of Justice
media representations
politicization
political and economic integration
political science
Acceso en línea:https://cupea.unr.edu.ar/index.php/revista/article/view/268
Aporte de:
Cuadernos de Política Exterior Argentina de Universidad Nacional de Rosario
id I15-R226-article-268
record_format ojs
institution Universidad Nacional de Rosario
institution_str I-15
repository_str R-226
container_title_str Cuadernos de Política Exterior Argentina
language Inglés
format Artículo revista
topic Domestic Political Institutions
International Court of Justice
media representations
politicization
political and economic integration
political science
spellingShingle Domestic Political Institutions
International Court of Justice
media representations
politicization
political and economic integration
political science
Sanday, Alfred wandera
King'ara, George Ngugi
Kiilu, Tommy Kibera
From Spectatorship to Citizenship: Televised Supreme Court Presidential Election Petitions and Public Perceptions of Judicial Legitimacy in Nairobi, Kenya
topic_facet Domestic Political Institutions
International Court of Justice
media representations
politicization
political and economic integration
political science
author Sanday, Alfred wandera
King'ara, George Ngugi
Kiilu, Tommy Kibera
author_facet Sanday, Alfred wandera
King'ara, George Ngugi
Kiilu, Tommy Kibera
author_sort Sanday, Alfred wandera
title From Spectatorship to Citizenship: Televised Supreme Court Presidential Election Petitions and Public Perceptions of Judicial Legitimacy in Nairobi, Kenya
title_short From Spectatorship to Citizenship: Televised Supreme Court Presidential Election Petitions and Public Perceptions of Judicial Legitimacy in Nairobi, Kenya
title_full From Spectatorship to Citizenship: Televised Supreme Court Presidential Election Petitions and Public Perceptions of Judicial Legitimacy in Nairobi, Kenya
title_fullStr From Spectatorship to Citizenship: Televised Supreme Court Presidential Election Petitions and Public Perceptions of Judicial Legitimacy in Nairobi, Kenya
title_full_unstemmed From Spectatorship to Citizenship: Televised Supreme Court Presidential Election Petitions and Public Perceptions of Judicial Legitimacy in Nairobi, Kenya
title_sort from spectatorship to citizenship: televised supreme court presidential election petitions and public perceptions of judicial legitimacy in nairobi, kenya
description Judicial transparency reforms assume that institutional visibility not only builds public trust but also activates democratic citizenship. Yet whether courtroom broadcasting actually produces civic engagement gains remains largely untested empirically. This article examines whether watching Kenya's televised Supreme Court presidential election petitions increased democratic participation. Drawing on survey data from 250 Nairobi residents, four focus group discussions, and comparative analysis across exposure levels, the study finds complexity and conditional civic activation effects surrounding the 2022 petition. Respondents who watched live proceedings for five or more hours exhibited significant gains in political efficacy, discussion frequency, and constitutional interest. Consumption through social media produced negligible change. Education moderated effects substantially, with university-educated respondents gaining three times the efficacy increase of their secondary-educated counterparts, revealing transparency's capacity to reproduce rather than reduce existing civic inequalities. Women who watched proceedings gained more than men despite assigning lower legitimacy ratings to the institution, suggesting that visibility can activate marginalized groups even when it does not fully persuade them of institutional quality. Deliberation proved critical: gains were strongest amongst those who discussed proceedings with diverse others. Approximately 28 per cent of activated respondents channeled increased engagement into partisan mobilization rather than deliberative participation. The findings challenge both optimistic assumptions that visibility automatically activates citizenship and pessimistic claims that it merely produces passive spectators.  
publisher Universidad Nacional de Rosario
publishDate 2026
url https://cupea.unr.edu.ar/index.php/revista/article/view/268
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spelling I15-R226-article-2682026-06-03T15:44:45Z From Spectatorship to Citizenship: Televised Supreme Court Presidential Election Petitions and Public Perceptions of Judicial Legitimacy in Nairobi, Kenya From Spectatorship to Citizenship: Televised Supreme Court Presidential Election Petitions and Public Perceptions of Judicial Legitimacy in Nairobi, Kenya Sanday, Alfred wandera King'ara, George Ngugi Kiilu, Tommy Kibera Domestic Political Institutions International Court of Justice media representations politicization political and economic integration political science Judicial transparency reforms assume that institutional visibility not only builds public trust but also activates democratic citizenship. Yet whether courtroom broadcasting actually produces civic engagement gains remains largely untested empirically. This article examines whether watching Kenya's televised Supreme Court presidential election petitions increased democratic participation. Drawing on survey data from 250 Nairobi residents, four focus group discussions, and comparative analysis across exposure levels, the study finds complexity and conditional civic activation effects surrounding the 2022 petition. Respondents who watched live proceedings for five or more hours exhibited significant gains in political efficacy, discussion frequency, and constitutional interest. Consumption through social media produced negligible change. Education moderated effects substantially, with university-educated respondents gaining three times the efficacy increase of their secondary-educated counterparts, revealing transparency's capacity to reproduce rather than reduce existing civic inequalities. Women who watched proceedings gained more than men despite assigning lower legitimacy ratings to the institution, suggesting that visibility can activate marginalized groups even when it does not fully persuade them of institutional quality. Deliberation proved critical: gains were strongest amongst those who discussed proceedings with diverse others. Approximately 28 per cent of activated respondents channeled increased engagement into partisan mobilization rather than deliberative participation. The findings challenge both optimistic assumptions that visibility automatically activates citizenship and pessimistic claims that it merely produces passive spectators.   Las reformas de transparencia judicial presuponen que la visibilidad institucional no sólo fortalece la confianza pública, sino que también activa la ciudadanía democrática. Sin embargo, si la transmisión televisiva de actuaciones judiciales produce ganancias reales en el compromiso cívico permanece sin suficiente verificación empírica. Este artículo examina si ver las peticiones electorales presidenciales del Tribunal Supremo de Kenia en televisión incrementó la participación democrática. A partir de datos de encuestas de 250 residentes de Nairobi, cuatro grupos de discusión y análisis comparativo por niveles de exposición, el estudio identifica efectos de activación cívica condicionales en torno a la petición de 2022. Los encuestados que vieron las actuaciones en directo durante cinco o más horas mostraron incrementos significativos en eficacia política, frecuencia de discusión y compromiso constitucional. El consumo a través de redes sociales produjo cambios mínimos. La educación moderó los efectos de forma considerable, revelando la capacidad de la transparencia para reproducir desigualdades cívicas existentes. Las mujeres que vieron las actuaciones mostraron mayores ganancias que los hombres pese a otorgar puntuaciones de legitimidad institucional más bajas. La deliberación resultó determinante: las ganancias en compromiso fueron mayores entre quienes discutieron las actuaciones con personas de opiniones diversas. Aproximadamente el 28 por ciento de los encuestados activados canalizó ese incremento hacia la movilización partidista. Los hallazgos cuestionan tanto el optimismo como el pesimismo sobre la transparencia y la ciudadanía democrática. Universidad Nacional de Rosario 2026-06-03 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Artículo revisado por pares application/pdf text/html https://cupea.unr.edu.ar/index.php/revista/article/view/268 CUPEA Cuadernos de Política Exterior Argentina; Núm. 143 (2026): Enero-Junio 1852-7213 0326-7806 eng https://cupea.unr.edu.ar/index.php/revista/article/view/268/317 https://cupea.unr.edu.ar/index.php/revista/article/view/268/318 Derechos de autor 2026 Alfred wandera Sanday, George Ngugi King'ara, Tommy Kibera Kiilu https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0

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