Mobilizing Interest Groups in America: Patrons, Professions, and Social Movements. By Jack L. Walker. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1991. 272p. $39.50 cloth, $14.95 paper.

1992 ◽  
Vol 86 (3) ◽  
pp. 817-818 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kay Lehman Schlozman
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
University Of Michigan ◽  
Ann Arbor

When Protest Makes Policy: How Social Movements Represent Disadvantaged Groups. By S. Laurel Weldon. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 2011. 244p. $65.00 cloth, $27.95 paper.

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 787-789
Author(s):  
Hahrie C. Han
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Social Practices ◽  
Upper Class ◽  
Democratic Accountability ◽  
University Of Michigan ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Organized Interests ◽  
Disadvantaged Groups ◽  
Ann Arbor ◽  
The University

Because social movements exist to challenge entrenched power structures or change prevailing social practices, they claim to represent marginalized or excluded constituencies. Yet as eloquently argued by E. E. Schattschneider, “the flaw in the pluralist heaven is that the heavenly chorus sings with a strong upper-class accent” (The Semisovereign People, 1960, 35). Lacking formal mechanisms of democratic accountability, social movements, like other organized interests, can fall prey to the trap of overrepresenting the privileged. In addition, some scholars have challenged the idea that movements have any durable influence. Even if we believe that movements represent the excluded, what value do they have if their influence is fleeting? These questions problematize the democratic value of social movements and raise questions about the value of protest in shaping policy that affects marginalized interests. Are movements effective pathways to greater democratic inclusiveness, or do they reinforce existing power structures?

Institutions and Innovation: Voters, Parties, and Interest Groups in the Consolidation of Democracy—France and Germany, 1870–1939. By Marcus Kreuzer. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2001. 224p. $52.50

2002 ◽  
Vol 96 (4) ◽  
pp. 855-856
Author(s):  
Alice H. Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Interest Groups ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Electoral Systems ◽  
University Of Michigan ◽  
Ann Arbor ◽  
Democratic Performance

As its title indicates, this book explores the links between institutions and innovation—specifically, between electoral systems and parties' capacity to innovate. The latter, in turn, is considered a crucial determinant of democratic performance because it shapes parties' capacity in times of economic crisis to offer policy prescriptions sufficiently attractive to limit voter defection to nondemocratic alternatives.

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