Political investorism in Australia: unnatural insiders and the insider/outsider dynamics of market lobbying

Abstract

Political lobbying in the marketplace in Australia has risen sharply in the last decade, with increased instances of shareholder activism and other forms of investment-based political participation, or ‘political investorism’. This article provides the first analysis of political investorism in the Australian context, utilising process-tracing and interviews to examine six case studies on issues including modern slavery, climate change, and human rights. We consider the insider and outsider dynamics of political investorism, and the factors that shape the manifestation of this tactic in Australia. We argue that political investorism in Australia is shaped primarily by structural factors including corporate governance rules and the power of superannuation (pension) funds. We demonstrate that some forms of political investorism defy neat categorisation as insider or outsider strategies, identifying a new category of ‘unnatural insider’ to describe the acquisition of insider status for the explicit purpose of pursuing political goals.