The Political Power of Protest

Minority Activism and Shifts in Public Policy

Bibliographic Data

ID6529144
AuthorsDaniel Q Gillion
Year2013
Pages210
Publication date2013-04-15
Open AccessNo
TypeBOOK
VenuePolitical Power of Protest (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherCambridge University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1017/cbo9781139381277
OpenAlexW4252854050
ISBN9781139381277
Open LibraryOL27570986M
LanguageEN
Citations received81

This book demonstrates the direct influence that political protest behavior has on Congress, the presidency, and the Supreme Court, illustrating that protest is a form of democratic responsiveness that government officials have used, and continue to draw on, to implement federal policies. Focusing on racial and ethnic minority concerns, this book shows that the context of political protest has served as a signal for political preferences. As pro-minority rights behavior grew and anti-minority rights actions declined, politicians learned from minority protest and responded when they felt emboldened by stronger informational cues stemming from citizens' behavior, a theory referred to as the "information continuum." Given the influence that minority protest actions have wielded over national government, the book offers a powerful implication. Although the shift from protest to politics as a political strategy has opened the door for institutionalized political opportunity, racial and ethnic minorities have neglected a powerful tool to illustrate the inequalities that exist in contemporary society

congressional behavior · democratic responsiveness · Minority rights · policy implementation · political opportunities · political protest · presidential behavior · racial and ethnic minorities · Supreme court · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Political Conflict and Governance · Race, History, and American Society · Civil rights · Government · Minorities · Political participation · Political parties · Political Parties · Political science · Protest movements · united states