The New Organising Model in Political Advocacy; Australia's Experience

This paper considers some initial findings from a qualitative study examining the ways in which the new, techno-social organising model in progressive advocacy groups has changed the nature of political participation in Australia. Specifically, the paper draws on the findings of an ongoing participatory case study of GetUp – a campaigning organisation which describes itself as “… an independent, grass-roots community advocacy organisation which aims to build a more progressive Australia by giving everyday Australians the opportunity to get involved and hold politicians accountable on important issues” (GetUp, 2013). Established in 2005-2006, GetUp is a prime example of new member-driven, internet-mediated campaigning organisations that continue to challenge traditional notions of democratic participation with novel membership engagement practices. This paper discusses early findings pertaining to one of the study’s key research questions – How do GetUp members understand their own activism and their relationship to the organisation? Data collection methods employed have thus far included participant observation, document analysis, in-depth, semi-structured interviews with GetUp members and with elite professional campaigners, and thematic analysis of membership survey responses. Early findings suggest that members are drawn to GetUp because they do not feel that their voices are ‘heard’ by their political representatives or by mainstream political processes. GetUp appears to ‘give its members a voice’ and to foster a sense of community and shared values. I propose, furthermore, that GetUp can be viewed as one of an archetypal category of political advocacy groups which have emerged primarily in modern western democratic countries over the past two decades in line with the ever-increasing dominance of the Internet as our primary means of communication.