Richard Scullion

Darren G. Lilleker

A collection of essays which seek to map thinking and practice in order to assess the extent to which the consumer, as opposed to the voter, should be elevated to a central position within our understanding of the relationship between the public and political spheres.

Imagining the Contemporary Electorate

Voters Or Consumers

Elizabeth Nixon

Mike Molesworth

Until recently government policy in the UK has encouraged an expansion of Higher Education to increase participation and with an express aim of creating a more educated workforce. This expansion has led to competition between Higher Education institutions, with students increasingly positioned as consumers and institutions working to improve the extent to which they meet ‘consumer demands’. Especially given the latest government funding cuts, the most prevalent outlook in Higher Education today is one of business, forcing institutions to reassess the way they are managed and promoted to ensure maximum efficiency, sales and ‘profits’. Students view the opportunity to gain a degree as a right, and a service which they have paid for, demanding a greater choice and a return on their investment. Changes in higher education have been rapid, and there has been little critical research into the implications. This volume brings together internationally comparative academic perspectives, critical accounts and empirical research to explore fully the issues and experiences of education as a commodity, examining: the international and financial context of marketisation the new purposes of universities the implications of university branding and promotion league tables and student surveys vs. quality of education the higher education market and distance learning students as ‘active consumers’ in the co-creation of value changing student experiences, demands and focus. With contributions from many of the leading names involved in Higher Education including Ron Barnett, Frank Furedi, Lewis Elton, Roger Brown and also Laurie Taylor in his journalistic guise as an academic at the University of Poppleton, this book will be essential reading for many.

The Marketisation of Higher Education and the Student as Consumer

Darren Lilleker

This edited collection seeks to map current thinking and practice in order to assess the extent to which the consumer, as opposed to the voter, should now to be elevated to a central position within our understanding of the relationship between the public and political spheres. The volume will firstly offer an overview of how consumerism has been applied to our understanding of political and voter behaviour so outlining the book’s key concepts. The volume then follows a processual approach to developing its analysis, offering essays that explore contrasting critical perspectives on the topic. The group of essays focus on conceptualising political consumerism; the next look at how political organisations use the tools of positioning and branding, so developing an overview of consumer-driven political behaviour. The focus then moves to the nature of political communication, both by parties and the media, and how this reflects the neo-liberal ontological perspective that encourages voting to be treated as part of consumer behaviour. Finally the book turns to the voter-consumer, looking firstly at the processing of messages and how this can be analysed from a consumerist perspective; and finally on voting behaviour itself, exploring the extent to which rational choice and economic models of voting have been increasingly a reflection of a consumerist perspective. Each chapter will approach the subject from a discrete perspective which will be outlined within its introduction. However the chapters will each explore the following: • Whether parties or voters are approaching one another using consumerist perspectives; • How this can be mapped empirically through specific examples or case studies; • The extent to which consumer behaviour models and perspectives help us understand voter or party behaviour.

Richard Scullion

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