GETUP!: understanding Australia's largest internet-mediated political campaigning and advocacy organisation

This thesis is about the Australian internet-mediated political advocacy and campaigning group, GetUp! Loosely modelled on MoveOn.org, GetUp was started in 2005 and today claims to have more than one million members. Like similar organisations, GetUp is well known for its innovative use of technology and new information communication technologies to campaign for political change on a range of progressive issues. There is an established body of academic literature that looks at the emergence of these groups, how they operate, the strategies and novel tactics they employ and, to a certain extent, who they are led by. What has not been explored to such an extent is the experience, perspective and role of members. This is important because groups like GetUp claim to be large movements of ‘everyday citizens’ and it is from their huge membership lists that these organisations get their legitimacy and power. However, until now, we have known very little about the members themselves. This thesis asks: how do members conceive of their role in, and relationship with, GetUp? I also look at GetUp’s leadership and how leaders understand their role in mobilising members. I carried out a mixed methods case study of GetUp, which included in-depth interviews with both leaders and members, participatory ethnography and the analysis of mass membership survey data. Overall, my finding indicate that GetUp is performing an important political socialisation role and is helping to turn out an informed citizenry. My research shows that GetUp has become a key player in the Australian political landscape.