The Political Power of Protest
Minority Activism and Shifts in Public Policy

Gillion demonstrates the direct influence that political protest behavior has on Congress, the presidency and the Supreme Court.

Daniel Q. Gillion (Author)

9781107657410, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 15 April 2013

210 pages, 18 b/w illus. 6 tables
21.6 x 14 x 1.2 cm, 0.27 kg

'… illuminating and persuasive, and his examination of the Supreme Court's responses to minority protests is especially innovative.' Allan J. Lichtman, Journal of American History

Gillion 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'. 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.

1. A continuum of information: the influence of minority political protest
2. Measuring information in minority protest
3. Viewing minority protest from the hill: the response from an individual and collective body of Congress
4. Knocking on the president's door: the impact of minority protest on presidential responsiveness
5. Appealing to an unlikely branch: minority political protest and the Supreme Court
6. Conclusion: settling protest dust and a future outlook on minority policies.

Subject Areas: Demonstrations & protest movements [JPWF], Pressure groups & lobbying [JPWD], Political activism [JPW], Political structures: democracy [JPHV], Political structure & processes [JPH]