cooptation

American  

[koh-op-tey-shuhn] / koʊˌɒpˈteɪ ʃən /

Also cooption, or co-optation

noun

1. the act or process of being elected or selected into a body by the existing members.

   Investigators and judges are selected via cooptation, not recruited through a public selection procedure.

2. the act or process of being assimilated or taken over by a larger or more established group.

   The revolutionaries declined to make specific demands as a defense against cooptation by established political parties or the labor unions.

3. the act or process of taking possession or making use of something without permission.

   At the heart of punk ideology lies a harsh condemnation of modern society combined with a self-conscious sense of irony about the commercial cooptation of the message of this supposedly antisocial music.

4. the act or process of being bribed or manipulated into changing sides.

   In order to prevent cooptation of their delegates, the organization changed representatives every few months.

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Etymology

Origin of cooptation

First recorded in 1530–40; coopt ( def. ) + -ation ( def. )

Example Sentences

The aim of authoritarian parties is control or cooptation of law enforcement and the military, which are often seen as the last line of defense of democracy.

From Salon

This is the gradual erosion of democracy, not by coup but by cooptation.

From Washington Post

How does a proposal of a revival of counterculture square with the cooptation of 1960s counterculture by capitalism?

From Salon

As for the cooptation of the counterculture by bad actors like Steve Jobs and Apple, I wrote on that subject with Andrew Cooper in the March 9, 2014 edition of Salon.

From Salon

"If it is in good faith, it demonstrates terrible ignorance. If it is in bad faith, it demonstrates a really messed up cooptation," Balsells continued.

From Fox News