activist

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(ăk'tə-vĭst) pronunciation
n.
A proponent or practitioner of activism: political activists.

adj.
  1. Of, relating to, or engaged in activism.
  2. Of, relating to, or being an activist.


One who takes an active part, usually as a volunteer, in a political party or interest group. Because activism is costly, activists are unusual people. Either they enjoy political activity for its own sake, or they have off-median views (see median voter theorem) which give them an incentive to pull the party or interest group towards the position they favour, rather than the position it would take to maximize its vote or influence. Hence some have argued for a ‘law of curvilinear disparity’ which holds that activists hold more extreme views than either the mass electorate or the party leadership. There is some empirical support for this ‘law’ but it has rarely been tested carefully.

Random House Word Menu:

categories related to 'activist'

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Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to activist, see:
  • Politicians and Activists - activist: individual engaged in direct action for political change or to influence specific issue; party worker


Translations:

Activist

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - aktivist

Nederlands (Dutch)
(politieke) activist

Français (French)
n. - activiste

Deutsch (German)
n. - Aktivist

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - ακτιβιστής, δραστήριο στέλεχος

Italiano (Italian)
attivista, militante

Português (Portuguese)
n. - ativista (m) (f)

Русский (Russian)
активист, сторонник решительных действий, сторонник (в политике)

Español (Spanish)
n. - activista

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - aktivist

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
激进主义份子, 行动主义者, 活跃份子

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 激進主義份子, 行動主義者, 活躍份子

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 행동주의자, 행동대원, 생산증진에 공헌한 노동자

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 行動主義者, 活動家

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) نشيط سياسيا أو مذهبيا‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮פועל למען עיקרון, במיוחד פוליטי, אקטיביסט‬


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Mentioned in

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