Exploring the campaign space of non-party activism in the 2017 and 2019 UK general elections

Temple, L. and Langer, A. I. (2023) Exploring the campaign space of non-party activism in the 2017 and 2019 UK general elections. Geoforum, 145, 103847. (doi: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2023.103847)

Abstract

In recent years there has been an increase in election-focused activity undertaken by non-party organisations. This activism concerns issues such as political education, cross-party collaboration, voter registration, and voter advice. Using the 2017 and 2019 UK general elections as case studies, we take a strategic action field approach to analyse how this campaign space is developing. We demonstrate the existence of competing logics of activism associated with the fields of social movements, electioneering, and ‘civic tech’. This leads to conflicts related to ethos, time, organisational hybridity, activism, funding and regulation, with such issues frequently shaped by the affordances offered by digital technology. Our findings contribute towards better understandings of how these actors operate in, and attempt to influence, the contemporary electoral landscape.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This project was funded by BA/Leverhulme (SRG18R1\180515).
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Langer, Dr Ana Ines
• Authors: Temple, L., and Langer, A. I.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Politics
• Journal Name: Geoforum
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 0016-7185
• ISSN (Online): 1872-9398
• Published Online: 30 August 2023
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2023 The Author(s).
• First Published: First published in Geoforum 145:103847
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons license

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
304280		Non-party campaigning and digital technology	Ana Ines Langer	British Academy (BRITACAD)	SRG18R1\180515	S&PS - Politics