Co-option

A co-option (also cooptation, co-optation, cooption) is an act of absorbing or assimilating. It is normally used in the context of a group of persons assimilating a weaker or smaller group, with the intention of neutralizing a threat from the weaker group. Verb forms include coopt and co-opt.

Co-optation may also refer to the tactic of neutralizing or winning over a minority by assimilating them into the established group or culture.

The term may refer to an election in which members of a committee (or similar group) vote in order to fill a vacancy on that committee or group. Where a small committee is originally elected using a method of proportional representation, a co-option may be thought unsuitable as the newly elected member will then not necessarily represent the interests of the group represented by the vacating member.

Other disciplines

• In evolutionary biology, co-option or exaptation refers to the shift in function of an adaptation.
• In sociology, co-option refers to a trend or idea being incorporated into mainstream culture; see also Cultural appropriation.