How Social Movements Die
Repression and Demobilization of the Republic of New Africa

This book argues that social movement death is the outgrowth of a coevolutionary dynamic.

Christian Davenport (Author)

9781107613874, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 22 December 2014

352 pages, 27 b/w illus. 2 tables
23 x 15.3 x 2 cm, 0.49 kg

'… the book will be useful for scholars interested in demobilization of social movement organizations or the general impact of state repression on movements, organizations, and individuals.' Ahsan Kamal, Oxford University Press Journals: Social Forces

How do social movements die? Some explanations highlight internal factors like factionalization, whereas others stress external factors like repression. Christian Davenport offers an alternative explanation where both factors interact. Drawing on organizational, as well as individual-level, explanations, Davenport argues that social movement death is the outgrowth of a coevolutionary dynamic whereby challengers, influenced by their understanding of what states will do to oppose them, attempt to recruit, motivate, calm, and prepare constituents while governments attempt to hinder all of these processes at the same time. Davenport employs a previously unavailable database that contains information on a black nationalist/secessionist organization, the Republic of New Africa, and the activities of authorities in the US city of Detroit and state and federal authorities.

Introduction
Part I. Theory: 1. Killing social movements from the outside or the inside
2. Killing social movements from the outside and the inside
Part II. Case: 3. Repression and red squads
4. Record keeping and data collection
Part III. Origins: 5. We shall overcome?: From GOAL to the Freedom Now Party
6. We shall overthrow!: from the Malcolm X Society to the Republic of New Africa
Part IV. Examination: 7. Birth of a black nation
8. To Ocean Hill–Brownsville and b(l)ack
9. New Bethel and the end of the beginning
10. When separatists separate
11. Mississippi: the last stand(off)
Part V. Conclusion: 12. Understanding the death of social movement organizations.

Subject Areas: Constitution: government & the state [JPHC], Politics & government [JP]