TY - JOUR
T1 - From Concerned Shopper to Dutiful Citizen
T2 - Implications of Individual and Collective Orientations toward Political Consumerism
AU - Gotlieb, Melissa R.
AU - Wells, Chris
N1 - Funding Information:
Collection of the data presented here, the Cooperative Campaign Analysis Project (CCAP), brings together more than sixty social scientists across twenty-five institutions. After the baseline wave of this cooperative study, a portion of all subsequent panel interviews was dedicated to unique data collection designed by participating teams. The Wisconsin-Michigan team was led by Barry Burden, Erika Franklin Fowler, Ken Goldstein, Hernando Rojas, and Dhavan Shah, with Shah serving as the principal investigator. These researchers are grateful for the support received from the following sources: the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Scholars in Health Policy Research Program at the University of Michigan; and the Hamel Faculty Fellowship, the Walter J. & Clara Charlotte Damm Fund of the Journal Foundation, the Graduate School at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and the Department of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the supporting sources or participating faculty.
PY - 2012/11
Y1 - 2012/11
N2 - Young citizens are increasingly seeking fulfillment in expressive modes of political participation, and scholars have begun to examine the implications of this trend for engagement in formal politics. While some argue that expressive practices are "crowding out" participation in more conventional civic activities, others more optimistically contend that they have expanded the political repertoires of young citizens, affording them with more opportunities to be engaged. The authors add clarity to this debate by specifying the conditions under which engagement in one particular form of expressive politics, political consumerism, is associated with conventional participation. An analysis of survey data shows that identification with other political consumers significantly enhances the relationship between political consumerism and traditional political engagement, particularly among younger generations of Americans. The authors argue that engaging in political consumerism alongside others provides an important opportunity for young citizens to develop the civic competencies necessary for engagement in the formal political sphere.
AB - Young citizens are increasingly seeking fulfillment in expressive modes of political participation, and scholars have begun to examine the implications of this trend for engagement in formal politics. While some argue that expressive practices are "crowding out" participation in more conventional civic activities, others more optimistically contend that they have expanded the political repertoires of young citizens, affording them with more opportunities to be engaged. The authors add clarity to this debate by specifying the conditions under which engagement in one particular form of expressive politics, political consumerism, is associated with conventional participation. An analysis of survey data shows that identification with other political consumers significantly enhances the relationship between political consumerism and traditional political engagement, particularly among younger generations of Americans. The authors argue that engaging in political consumerism alongside others provides an important opportunity for young citizens to develop the civic competencies necessary for engagement in the formal political sphere.
KW - civic engagement
KW - cohort effects
KW - collective identity
KW - political consumerism
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84866999388&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0002716212453265
DO - 10.1177/0002716212453265
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84866999388
SN - 0002-7162
VL - 644
SP - 207
EP - 219
JO - Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
JF - Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
IS - 1
ER -