1.2 What is a constituency?
A constituency might be a concept you are familiar with. In the UK it is common to think of constituencies as electoral boundaries, a group of voters arranged in a geographical area. In campaigning terms, however, you should think of a constituency in its broader sense, as a group of people with shared material interests or shared political/social outlooks. Material interests, here, might include things like being employed by the same organisation, living in the same neighbourhood, or facing the same kinds of discrimination in these spaces.
Material concerns may intersect with a particular social or political outlook. A group of individuals may prescribe to a particular political belief or value ideals like ‘community’ or ‘equality’. These different and complex aspects group individuals into constituencies.
In a campaign, you should think about who comprises the constituency you want to target. Who are the people who care enough about the issue to do something about it? Other approaches to campaigning might refer to a core demographic, a target audience, a voter base. But in all cases, you are being directed to think about how people’s material interests or shared outlooks can draw them into action. This drawing into action is what is meant by ‘mobilising’.
Activity 1 Mobilising a constituency
Christy Adeola Braham led a campaign to reform police and council services regarding tenants’ rights and eviction. Following what she believes was racial profiling by the police, Christy was illegally evicted from her home. In response, Christy built a coalition of organisations that successfully won increased training for police officers in eviction law.
In this scenario, the coalition of organisations are the resource Christy used to undertake the campaign. But how Christy came to decide that they were the most appropriate resource to use was a process of targeting a constituency to mobilise.
- Think of an issue relevant to your own context. Perhaps an issue in your community or workplace. Who would your constituency be and how would you mobilise them?
- Watch the video about how Christy approached this. After you have watched it, use the table below to list examples of good practice that could be relevant to your issue. Consider the following:
- What questions did Christy ask when identifying a constituency?
- How did she approach and communicate with them?
Transcript: Video 1 Christy Adeola Braham – Mobilising constituency
| Christy’s practice | Application to my context |
|---|---|
Comment
| Practice | Application to my context |
|---|---|
| Asked who is directly affected by the issue. | ‘My chosen issue is the ending of no-fault evictions for the tenants of private landlords. The people who are directly affected would be private tenants.’ |
| Asked how these people are organised. Christy approached a range of Black community organisations to access lots of her target constituency at once. | ‘I would look at tenants’ groups such as pressure groups, residents’ associations, and tenants’ unions.’ |
| Asked who is indirectly affected to build a broader coalition. | ‘This might include families of young renters, homeless charities and services, local politicians who deal with lots of eviction work, etc.’ |
You will now consider the different contexts in which campaigns take place and how, in each, a target constituency is identified and mobilised around a particular issue.