Identifying the emerging trends in contemporary politics as life politics, this article revisits the notion of issue publics (an auxiliary concept developed to explain variability in attitudes and behavior within the public) and extends its theoretical concept in the context of life politics (a term relating to the choices people make every day and the politics of personal interests). It argues that publics consist of pluralistic groups of people who consider particular issues personally important based on self-interest, collective identity, and values. This article pays particular attention to how the new media environment, characterized by the development of digital media and the adoption of entertainment-oriented, personalized media in politics, contributes to the facilitation of issue publics in life politics.
AlmondGabriel. 1950. The American people and foreign policy. New York, NY: Harcourt, Brace.
2.
BeckUlrich. 1999. What is globalization?Cambridge: Polity.
3.
BeckerAmy B.DalrympleKajsa E.BrossardDominiqueScheufeleDietram A.GuntherAl C.2010. Getting citizens involved: How controversial policy debates stimulate issue participation during a political campaign. International Journal of Public Opinion Research22 (2): 181–203.
4.
BennettW. Lance. 2003. Branded political communication: Lifestyle politics, logo campaigns, and the rise of global citizenship. In Politics, products, and markets: Exploring political consumerism past and present, eds. MichelettiMichelleFollesdalAndreaStolleDietlind, 101–26. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.
5.
BennettW. Lance. 2012. The personalization of politics: Identity, social media, and changing patterns of participation. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, this volume.
6.
BennettW. LanceSegerbergAlexandra. 2011. Digital media and the personalization of collective action. Information, Communication & Society14:1–30.
7.
BoningerDavid S.KrosnickJon A.BerentMatthew K.FabrigarLeandre R.1995. The causes and consequences of attitude importance. In Attitude strength: Antecedents and consequences, eds. PettyRichard E.KrosnickJon. A., 159–90. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
8.
ConversePhillip E.1964. The nature of belief systems in mass publics. In Ideology and discontent, ed. ApterDavid E., 206–61. New York, NY: Free Press.
9.
CookElizabeth AdellJelenTed J.WilcoxClyde. 1994. Issue voting in gubernatorial elections: Abortion and post-Webster politics. Journal of Politics56:187–99.
10.
DaltonRussell J.2000. The decline of party identifications. In Parties without partisans: Political change in advanced industrial democracies, eds. DaltonRussell J.WattenbergMartin P., 19–36. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
11.
Delli CarpiniMichael X.KeeterScott. 1996. What Americans know about politics and why it matters. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
12.
DunlapRiley E.2010. Climate change denial: Sources, actors, and strategies. In The Routledge international handbook of climate change and society, ed. Lever-TracyConstance, 240–59. New York, NY: Routledge.
13.
FurgersonHarry. 2001. Social work, individuation, and life politics. British Journal of Social Work32:41–55.
14.
GiddensAnthony. 1991. Modernity and self-identity: Self and society in the late modern age. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
15.
HerzogHarold A.1993. The movement is my life: The psychology of animal rights activism. Journal of Social Issues49:103–19.
16.
HoltDouglas B.2012. Constructing sustainable consumption: From ethical values to the cultural transformation of unsustainable markets. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, this volume.
17.
InglehartRonald. 1997. Modernization and postmodernization: Cultural, economic and political change in 43 societies. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
18.
InglehartRonaldWelzelChristian. 2005. Modernization, cultural change, and democracy: The human development sequence. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
19.
JonesJeffrey P.2004. Entertaining politics: New political television and civic culture. New York, NY: Rowman & Littlefield.
20.
KimYoung Mie. 2007. How intrinsic and extrinsic motivations interact in selectivity: Investigating the moderating effects of situational information processing goals in issue publics’ Web behavior. Communication Research34:185–211.
21.
KimYoung Mie. 2008. Where is my issue? The influence of news coverage on subsequent information selection on the Web. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media52:600–21.
22.
KimYoung Mie. 2009. Issue publics in the new information environment: Selectivity, domain-specificity, and extremity. Communication Research36:254–84.
23.
KimYoung MieMcCluskeyMichael. 2009. Revisiting the myth of outside lobbying: Information technology, group strategies, and news media coverage. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, September, Toronto, Canada.
24.
KimYoung MieMinSeong-JaeShenFeiMyersTeresa. 2010. Organized interests’ collective action in the new information environment. Paper presented at the American Political Science Workshop, Department of Political Science, University of Wisconsin–Madison.
25.
KimYoung MieShenFeiDylkoIvan. 2008. Now going into the public: Development of presidential candidates’ leadership strategies from 1980 to 2008. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, August, Boston, MA.
26.
KimYoung MieVishakJohn. 2008. Just laugh! You don’t need to remember: The effects of the entertainment media on political information acquisition and processing. Journal of Communication58:338–60.
27.
KrosnickJon A.1990. Government policy and citizen passion: A study of issue publics in contemporary America. Political Behavior12:59–92.
28.
LaymanGeoffrey C.CarseyThomas M.HorowitzJuliana Menasce. 2006. Party polarization in American politics: Characteristics, causes, and consequences. Annual Review of Political Science9:83–110.
29.
McCluskeyMichaelKimYoung Mie. 2010. Polarization or moderatism? Advocacy group ideology in newspapers. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, August, Denver, CO.
30.
MelucciAlberto. 1996. Challenging codes: Collective action in the information age. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
31.
MichelettiMicheleStolleDietlind. 2012. Sustainable citizenship and the new politics of consumption. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, this volume.
32.
MinSeong JaeKimYoung Mie. 2012. Choosing the right media for mobilization: Issue advocacy groups’ media choices in the competitive media environment. Mass Communication and Society15:225–44.
33.
NisbetMatthew C.2011. Public opinion and political participation. In Oxford handbook of climate change and society, eds. DryzekJohnNorgaardRichardSchlosbergDavid. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
34.
NivolaPietro S.BradyDavid W.2008. Red and blue nation? Consequences and correction of America’s polarized politics. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
35.
PutnamRobert. 1995. Bowling alone: America’s declining social capital. Journal of Democracy6 (1): 65–78.
36.
SimonBerndLoewyMichaelStürmerStefanWeberUlrikeFreytagPeterHabigCorinnaKampmeierClaudiaSpahlingerPeter. 1998. Collective identification and social movement participation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology74:646–58.
37.
van ZoonenLiesbet. 2005. Entertaining the citizen: When politics and popular culture converge. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
38.
WillisMargaret M.SchorJuliet B.2012. Does changing a light bulb lead to changing the world? Political action and the conscious consumer. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, this volume.
39.
YeagerDavid S.LarsonSamuel B.KrosnickJon A.TompsonTrevor. 2011. Measuring Americans’ issue priorities: A new version of the most important problem question reveals more concern about global warming and the environment. Public Opinion Quarterly75:125–38.
40.
ZallerJohn. 1992. The nature and origin of mass opinions. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
