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The Emergence of the “Accidental Citizen”: Implications for Political Marketing

The central argument developed in this paper is premised on the belief that, in the life experiences of individuals, we find a messy interface between politics and consumption, where, often unintentionally, we take on citizenly roles and have civic experiences in market spaces as consumers. Flowing from this is the emergence of what the author calls the “accidental citizen,” where consumer actions increasingly contain political qualities and, just as importantly, these experiences are acknowledged and reflected on as such. The paper presents an argument that rejects the dominant discourse that contrasts notions of consumer and citizen. This position of contrast is the established position taken in the political science literature that considers citizenship predominantly in terms of legalistically based relations between individuals and the state (Offe, 1999), and, given that political marketing developed as an addendum to this body of work, the view of consumer contrasting with citizen underpins much political marketing thinking too. The paper, based on more holistic interpretations of the core notions of citizen and consumer, provides examples that illustrate a merging of consumption and politics in the everyday lives of individuals, positing that the accidental citizen can act as a catalyst for further political action, and as such, is an important concept with widespread consequences for the discipline of political marketing.