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ANNUAL
REVIEWS Further The Political Consequences
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Edwin Amenta,1 Neal Caren,2 Elizabeth Chiarello,1
Our comprehensive search and Yang Su1
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1
Department of Sociology, University of California, Irvine, California 92697;
by University of California - Irvine on 08/23/12. For personal use only.

email: ea3@uci.edu, echiarel@uci.edu, su.yang@uci.edu


2
Department of Sociology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill,
North Carolina 27599; email: neal.caren@unc.edu

Annu. Rev. Sociol. 2010. 36:287307 Key Words


First published online as a Review in Advance on collective benets, states, inuence, political mediation, case studies
April 20, 2010

The Annual Review of Sociology is online at Abstract


soc.annualreviews.org
Research on the political consequences of social movements has recently
This articles doi: accelerated. We take stock of this research with a focus on movements
10.1146/annurev-soc-070308-120029
in democratic polities and the United States in comparative and histori-
Copyright  c 2010 by Annual Reviews. cal perspective. Although most studies demonstrate the inuence of the
All rights reserved
largest movements, this research has not addressed how much move-
0360-0572/10/0811-0287$20.00 ments matter. As for the conditions under which movements matter,
scholars have been revising their initial hypotheses that the strategies,
organizational forms, and political contexts that aid mobilization also
aid in gaining and exerting political inuence. Scholars are exploring
alternative arguments about the productivity of different actions and
characteristics of movements and movement organizations in the var-
ied political contexts and institutional settings they face. Researchers are
also employing more innovative research designs to appraise these more
complex arguments. Scholarship will advance best if scholars continue
to think through the interactions between strategies, organizations, and
contexts; address movement inuences on processes in institutional pol-
itics beyond the agenda-setting stage; situate case studies in comparative
and historical perspective; and make more comparisons across move-
ments and issues.

287
SO36CH14-Amenta ARI 3 June 2010 0:31

INTRODUCTION opinion (cf. McCarthy & Zald 1977), which we


see as analytically separate from movements
The political consequences of social move-
and may have a direct impact on political out-
ments have drawn extensive scholarly attention
comes (Giugni 2004, Brooks & Manza 2006,
in the rst decade of this century. The years
Agnone 2007). Using a similar denition,
2001 through 2009 alone have seen an acceler-
Amenta et al. (2009) identify 34 major social
ation of publications, including 45 articles, 38
movement families by surveying all national
in the top four general sociology journalsthe
and political U.S. SMOs that appeared in
American Sociological Review, American Journal of
The New York Times in the twentieth century.
Sociology, Social Forces, and Social Problemsand
The most covered movements were those of
7 in Mobilization, the top movement specialty
labor, African American civil rights, veterans,
journal. This outpouring includes several
feminists, nativists, and environmentalists.
monographs and edited volumes from presti-
A central issue in the literature is whether
gious scholarly presses. This review takes stock
social movements have had any major political
Annu. Rev. Sociol. 2010.36:287-307. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org

of this researchits questions, conceptual


consequences or can be routinely expected to
and theoretical developments, and research
by University of California - Irvine on 08/23/12. For personal use only.

have them. Unlike mobilizing constituents,


strategieswhich was last reviewed more than
creating collective identities, increasing indi-
a decade ago (Giugni 1998). We address social
vidual and organizational capacities, or altering
movements attempts to inuence policymak-
the career trajectories of movement partici-
ing, the main subject of research, but also move-
pants, political consequences are external to
ment inuences on democratic rights, electoral
and not under the direct control of SMOs. The
processes, legal decisions, political parties, and
proximate actors in key political decisions are
state bureaucracies. In this review, we focus on
political executives, legislators, administrators,
the political impact of movements in largely
and judges, each subject to myriad inuences.
democratized polities and especially in the U.S.
The disagreement on this basic issue is wide.
polity in comparative and historical perspective.
Some scholars (Baumgartner & Mahoney
We dene political social movements as
2005, Piven 2006) hold that social movements
actors and organizations seeking to alter power
are generally effective and account for most
decits and to effect social transformations
important political change. Others (Skocpol
through the state by mobilizing regular citizens
2003, Burstein & Sausner 2005, Giugni 2007)
for sustained political action (see Tilly 1999,
argue that social movements are rarely inuen-
Amenta et al. 2009). The denition focuses
tial and overall not signicantly so compared
on social movement organizations (SMOs)
with other political actors, institutions, and
(McCarthy & Zald 1977) or challengers
processes. The extant researchmainly case
(Gamson 1990) that can be combined into
studies of the largest movementstypically
social movement industries or families. We
concludes that these movements are politically
include all the political collective action of
inuential for the specic outcomes analyzed,
movements: not only extrainstitutional action
but it does not settle the larger questions of
such as protest marches and civil disobedience,
whether movements are generally effective or
but also lobbying, lawsuits, and press confer-
how inuential they are.
ences.1 The denition does not include public
Most scholars studying the political in-
uence of movements seek to identify the
1
Our denition includes established SMOs and movement
actors, such as the National Organization for Women. Our
denition excludes politically active interest groups based recreational, and fraternal organizations and actors, such as
on business and professional actors, such as the Chamber of the March of Dimes, the American Bowling Congress, and
Commerce and American Medical Association, whose con- the Knights of Columbus, as they are not mainly politically
stituents are not facing political power decits and are seen as focused. Nor do we include all international nongovernmen-
members of the polity (Tilly 1999) and also excludes service, tal organizations, given their frequent service orientation.

288 Amenta et al.


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conditions under which social movements From there we address the distinctive method-
are likely to be inuential and see the impact ological issues that arise in attempting to
of social movements on states as a recursive appraise theoretical claims about the political
process (Soule et al. 1999, Amenta et al. 2002, consequences of movements (Tilly 1999, Earl
Meyer 2005, Amenta 2006, Olzak & Soule 2000, Giugni 2004, McVeigh et al. 2006,
2009). The structure and activities of states Tilly & Tarrow 2006). We conclude with
inuence lines of organization and action suggestions for future thinking and lines of
among movements, and social movements empirical inquiry.
seek to inuence states by mobilizing people,
resources, and claims around lines of action.
Partly because of its late start, research on the HOW MIGHT MOVEMENTS
political consequences of movements began by MATTER IN POLITICS?
hypothesizing that political inuence would be The question of how movements might matter
produced by the movement literatures three is about the nature of the outcome or depen-
Annu. Rev. Sociol. 2010.36:287-307. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org

main determinants of mobilization: resource dent variable. Scholars of the political impacts
by University of California - Irvine on 08/23/12. For personal use only.

mobilization and organizational forms or of movements have moved away from address-
mobilizing structures (McCarthy & Zald ing whether movements or organizations are
2002, McVeigh et al. 2003, Andrews 2004, successful in gaining new benets or acceptance
King et al. 2005), framing strategies (Cress (Gamson 1990) and have turned to examining
& Snow 2000, McCright & Dunlap 2003, the causal inuence of movements on political
McVeigh et al. 2004, McCammon et al. 2008, outcomes and processes drawn from political
McCammon 2009), and political opportunities sociology literature (Andrews 2004, Amenta &
and contexts (Giugni 2004, Meyer & Minkoff Caren 2004). The main potential political con-
2004, Soule 2004, Meyer 2005, McVeigh et al. sequences of movements at the structural level
2006). The idea was that the circumstances are the extension of democratic rights and prac-
that helped challengers mobilize would also tices and the formation of new political parties.
aid them in their bids to effect political change. At a more intermediate level are changes in pol-
Recent research has suggested that high mo- icy, which can provide consistent benets to a
bilization is necessary for a movement to gain movements constituency as well as enforce col-
political inuence and that certain mobilizing lective identities and aid challengers in strug-
structures and political circumstances boost the gles against targets not mainly state oriented.
productivity of movement efforts, but also that Scholars have found it valuable to divide the
conditions and activities that spur mobilization policymaking process into its component parts.
often present problems for challengers beyond Scholars of political outcomes have deempha-
the attention-getting phase of politics. Sorting sized Gamsons (1990) acceptance but have
this out has been a focus of recent research. argued that challengers can gain political lever-
In our review, we address a series of issues age of a similar kind through connections with
specic to the political consequences of move- political parties and through electoral activity as
ments. First, we specify what inuence means well as through what Gamson calls inclusion,
for politically oriented challengers. Next, we or challengers occupying state positions.
address the question of whether movements
have been generally inuential. We then
review hypothesized pathways to inuence for Beyond Success
challengers, going beyond the standard deter- Scholars of the political impact of move-
minants of mobilization to address theoretical ments have dropped or modied Gamsons
approaches that confront specic aspects of (1990) types of successnew advantages and
political actors, structures, and processes and acceptancelargely because these outcomes
incorporate them in multicausal arguments. and the idea of success generally do not

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SO36CH14-Amenta ARI 3 June 2010 0:31

correspond well to the degree of potential in- increases the political returns to the collective
uence over states and political processes. For action of a challenger. These gains are usually
Gamson, success in new advantages means that at a structural or systemic level of state pro-
an SMOs goals were mainly realized, and this cesses and constitute a kind of meta-collective
criterion works well when a movement has one benet. Gains in the democratization of state
important political goal, such as gaining suf- processes, such as winning the right to vote by a
frage (Banaszak 1996, McCammon et al. 2001) nonfranchised group, increase the productivity
or banning alcohol (Szymanski 2003). But the of future state-directed collective action by
success standard limits the consideration of such groups. Many of the most prominent
many possible political impacts. Challengers social movements have sought this basic goal,
may fail to achieve their stated programand including movements of workers, women, and,
thus be deemed a failurebut still win substan- in the United States, the civil rights movement
tial new advantages for their constituents, a sit- (Rueschemeyer et al. 1992, Banaszak 1996,
uation likely for challengers with far-reaching McAdam 1999, McCammon et al. 2001).
Annu. Rev. Sociol. 2010.36:287-307. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org

goals (Amenta et al. 2005). There may be ben- The formation by movements of established
by University of California - Irvine on 08/23/12. For personal use only.

ecial unintended consequences (Tilly 1999). political parties is also a structural political
Challengers can do worse than fail; they can in- change (Schwartz 2000 and more below), if one
duce backlashes, such as repression or increased step removed from transformations in states.
policing (Piven & Cloward 1977; Fording 2001;
Snow & Soule 2009, chapter 6). Challengers
constituencies may gain political results that Collective Goods through Policy
challengers do not cause (Skrentny 2006b). Most collective action, however, is aimed at an
To address some of these issues, other intermediate level: benets that will continue to
scholars start with an alternative based on the ow from states to groups unless some coun-
concept of collective goods or on group-wise tervailing action is taken. These generally in-
advantages or disadvantages from which volve major legislative changes in state policy
nonparticipants cannot be easily excluded, and and the bureaucratic enforcement and imple-
these scholars focus explicitly on states and mentation of that policy. State policies are in-
political processes (Amenta & Young 1999). stitutionalized benets that provide collective
Political collective goods can be material, such goods in a routine fashion to all those meet-
as categorical social spending programs, but ing specied requirements. For example, once
can also be less tangible, such as new ways to enacted and enforced with bureaucratic means,
refer to a group. SMOs almost invariably claim categorical social spending programs provide
to represent a group extending beyond the or- benets in such a manner (Amenta 1998). The
ganizations adherents and make demands that beneciaries gain rights of entitlement to the
would provide collective benets to that larger benets, and bureaucratic enforcement helps to
group (Tilly 1999). The collective benet stan- ensure the routine maintenance of such collec-
dard takes into account that a challenger can tive benets. The issue and group are privileged
have considerable impact even when it fails to in politics. Regulatory bureaucracies may ad-
achieve its goals and that successful challengers vance mandates in the absence of new legisla-
could have negligible consequences (Amenta tion, as with state labor commissions (Amenta
& Young 1999, Andrews 2004, Agnone 2007). 1998) or afrmative action (Bonastia 2000).
These ideas regarding new benets and However, policies vary widely in their impli-
collective goods have been connected to po- cations. Challengers may win something minor
litical sociological concepts (see Amenta et al. for their constituency, such as a one-time sym-
2002). From this perspective, the greatest sort bolic benet designed mainly to reassure an au-
of impact is the one that provides a group with dience of voters or other bystanders (Santoro
continuing leverage over political processes and 2002).

290 Amenta et al.


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Through their policies, states can ratify (b) legislative content, (c) passage, and
or attempt to undermine emerging collective (d ) implementation (Amenta & Young 1999,
identities or help to create new ones, sometimes Andrews & Edwards 2004). If a challenger
on purpose, though often inadvertently. Inso- places its issue onto the political agenda, it
far as a challenger constructs a new collective has increased its probability of winning some
identity that extends to a beneciary group and collective benets for its larger constituency.
provides psychological rewards, winning a po- Inuencing the political agenda matters for
litical afrmation of this identity is a potentially achieving legislative gains (Baumgartner &
important accomplishment (Polletta & Jasper Mahoney 2005), and movement protest is
2001). States provide authoritative commu- most inuential at this early stage of the policy
nications that can greatly inuence identities process (King et al. 2005, 2007; Soule & King
and are often in the vanguard of recognizing 2006; Johnson 2008; Olzak & Soule 2009). A
new identity claims through changes in policy challenger can also work to increase the value
(Amenta & Young 1999). These results can of collective benets included in any bill that
Annu. Rev. Sociol. 2010.36:287-307. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org

range from a challengers constituency gaining makes it onto the legislative agenda (Bernstein
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more respectful labels in ofcial governmental 2001, Amenta 2006). Once the content has been
representations, to having the group formally specied, moreover, challengers can inuence
recognized in state policies and regulations individual legislators to vote for the bill and
(Skrentny 2002, 2006b), to dening racial thus inuence the probability of gaining spec-
categories (Nobles 2000). ied collective benets (Amenta et al. 2005).
Movements and organizations that are not Then the program must be implemented,
primarily state oriented may also target the and the more secure the implementation the
state for policies that aid them in struggles greater the probability of collective benets
against other targets (Tarrow 1998), thus over the long run (Andrews & Edwards 2004).
increasing the probability of inuencing these Winning a new interpretation of a law can be a
targets. For example, labor movements focus collective benet, too, and litigation has been
on states to ensure rights to organize and en- an increasingly important process for move-
gage in collective bargaining. Also, civil rights ments, especially regarding the enforcement of
movements have had an advantage in ght- existing laws (McCann 2006, Skrentny 2006a).
ing discrimination by corporations through
equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws
(Skrentny 2002). By outlawing a set of practices Beyond Acceptance
and providing legal remedies, EEO laws create Democratic states generally recognize chal-
another channel for collective action. Further- lenging organizations, and so scholars in this
more, by creating a bureau, the EEOC, these area do not frequently address Gamsons
laws have provided additional resources and (1990) acceptance. More useful is a modied
legitimation for the movement. Thus, chal- version of Gamsons (1990) inclusion, or
lengers can demand state regulations on indus- challengers who gain state positions through
tries (Schneiberg & Bartley 2001). States may election or appointment, which can lead to
also become a fulcrum in transnational protest collective benets (Banaszak 2005, Amenta
(Paxton et al. 2006). Challengers blocked in one 2006, Paxton et al. 2006). Important interme-
state may appeal to sympathetic SMOs in other diate inuence can come through elections and
states to apply pressure to their governments political parties, as the willingness of ofcials to
to alter the policies of the original state. aid the constituents of social movements often
Scholars can better assess the impact of turns on electoral considerations (Goldstone
challengers by dividing the process of creating 2003, Amenta 2006). The connections can be
new laws that contain collective benets direct and tight, as when movements form their
into the processes of (a) agenda setting, own political parties (Schwartz 2000), which

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SO36CH14-Amenta ARI 3 June 2010 0:31

can take ofce (usually in coalitions) and act on scholars view social movements other than la-
their platforms, as with some left-libertarian bor as relatively lacking in political inuence
and green parties in Europe (Rucht 1999). In compared with other political actors and in-
polities with direct democratic devices, move- stitutions (Skocpol 2003, Burstein & Sausner
ments may win or inuence policy changes 2005). Others tend to evaluate movements as
through referendums (Kriesi 2004). highly inuential (see Berry 1999, Baumgartner
In the U.S. polity, creating an enduring & Mahoney 2005, Piven 2006). Abundant re-
movement party has not been possible, and search indicates that various individual move-
direct democratic devices are restricted to ments and their activities have inuenced spe-
some states (Amenta 2006). More inuential cic policies, but researchers often nd that
in U.S. settings are challengers bids to forge movement inuence is contingent on favorable
enduring electoral connections with one of the political or other circumstances (see Table 1).
main political parties, as through inuencing The more global questions of whether most
the party platforms of presidential nominees. movements have mattered and how much they
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Historically, this has been done, for example, have mattered in comparison with other deter-
by University of California - Irvine on 08/23/12. For personal use only.

between labor and civil rights movements minants of political outcomes have not been
and the national Democratic party (Amenta conclusively addressed.
1998) and, more recently, between Christian Some scholarship employs research designs
Right and antiabortion movements and the that provide leverage on the global questions.
Republican party (Micklethwait & Wooldridge Notably, researchers have compared inuence
2005, Fetner 2008). U.S. national legislative across a random sample of U.S. movement
candidates are not bound by party platforms, organizations (Gamson 1990); across the
however. Movements have sought to inuence 58 largest civic membership organizations
individual candidates and elections, often (Skocpol 2003), about half of which are SMOs;
aiding friends or combating enemies as deter- and across a selection of major political issues
mined by voting records or campaign promises, (Baumgartner & Mahoney 2005). Other
and have avoided strict alignments with parties studies examine similar movements across
to maximize membership (Clemens 1997, countries (Kriesi et al. 1995; Giugni 2004,
Amenta 2006, McVeigh 2009). As for inclu- 2007; Linders 2004; Halfmann 2010). Yet
sion proper, U.S. challenging organizations others analyze individual movements and all
representatives are far more likely to be key legislation enacted during the period of
appointed to state positions, such as to regular contention (Viterna & Fallon 1998, Werum
governmental bureaucracies or to commissions & Winders 2001, Amenta 2006, Agnone 2007,
addressing a specic issue (Amenta 2006), than Johnson 2008, Santoro 2008, Olzak & Soule
to win ofce through elections; care is needed, 2009), such as relating to old age, LGBT
however, to distinguish between inclusion of rights, or the environment. These studies nd
actual participants in challenges and inclu- that SMOs and other civic organizations have
sion of members of the challengers target been inuential. Gamson (1990) nds that
constituency. most of his challenging organizations gained
some form of success, although success is often
contingent on goals, activities, and forms of
DO MOVEMENTS MATTER organization. Skocpol (2003) nds inuence
IN POLITICS, AND IF SO, among civic organizations with active mem-
HOW MUCH? bership afliates across the country. Others
The question of if and how much movements also nd that movement inuence depends in
matter in politics is important because one part on the circumstances under which move-
key motivation for studying movements is that ments contend (Amenta 2006, Santoro 2008,
they effect political and social change. Some Halfmann 2010) or is conned to the

292 Amenta et al.


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SO36CH14-Amenta
ARI

Table 1 Movement influence as a topic addressed in articlesa in the top four sociology journals and Mobilization, 20012009, by movement family and
prominence, outcome type analyzed, size and direction of effect, and direct or mediated influence
3 June 2010

Influence of Movements Mediation and Type


Movement family Movements Partisan Legislative
0:31

(prominence)b examinedc Strong Modest Weak None Negative Unmediated Mediated Context Stage
Labor (1) 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
Civil rights, black (2) 11 3 6 1 1 0 1 10 4 1
Feminism/womens 11 7 3 1 0 0 1 10 4 2
rights (4)
Nativist/supremacist 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
(5)
Environment (6) 6 1 2 3 0 0 1 5 1 0
Antiwar (9) 2 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0
Civil rights, other (19) 5 0 1 3 1 0 0 5 4 0
Christian Right (21) 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1
Lesbian and gay (24) 3 0 1 2 0 0 0 3 0 1
Other/non-U.S. 11 5 5 1 0 0 0 11 5 1
Outcome type
Structural 3 1 1 1 0 0 1 2 0 1
Policy, multiple 10 3 5 2 0 0 1 9 1 2
Policy, single 40 14 14 9 3 0 4 36 17 3
Election/inclusion 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
Total 54 18 20 12 3 1 7 47 18 6

a
The 45 articles categorized in this table: Agnone 2007; Almeida 2008; Amenta et al. 2005; Andrews 2001; Chen 2007; Cornwall et al. 2007; Davis & Rosan 2004; Dixon 2008; Evans & Kay
2009; Giugni 2007; Howard-Hassmann 2005; Ingram & Rao 2004; Isaac et al. 2006; Jacobs & Helms 2001; Jacobs & Kent 2007; Johnson 2008; Kane 2003, 2007; King et al. 2005, 2007; Lee

www.annualreviews.org Political Consequences of Movements


2007; McAdam & Su 2002; McCammon 2009; McCammon et al. 2001, 2007, 2008; McCright & Dunlap 2003; McVeigh et al. 2003, 2004, 2006; Noy 2009; Olzak & Ryo 2007; Olzak & Soule
2009; Pedriana 2004, 2006; Santoro 2002, 2008; Skrentny 2006a; Soule 2004; Soule & King 2006; Soule & Olzak 2004; Stearns & Almeida 2004; Tsutsui & Shin 2008; Viterna & Fallon 1998;

293
Werum & Winders 2001.
b
The prominence of a movement family (shown in parentheses) refers to its ranking in The New York Times citations, 19001999 (see Amenta et al. 2009).
c
Number of movements in each category examined. For articles that examined more than one movement family or organization within that family, each case is coded separately.
SO36CH14-Amenta ARI 3 June 2010 0:31

agenda-setting phase of the policy process (and positive) movement inuence and another
(Baumgartner & Mahoney 2005, Olzak & 20 indicate moderate inuence. Thus, about
Soule 2009). 70% of the relationships show reasonably high
Recent high-prole articles also indicate movement inuence. However, this means that
that movements have been signicantly inu- 30% of the ndings show negligible positive
ential. Table 1 considers all 45 articles, en- inuence of movements: 12, or 22%, exhibit
compassing the analysis of 54 movements or weak inuence, 3 nd no inuence, and 1
movement organizations, published in the top exhibits negative inuence. Moreover, the
four sociology journals and Mobilization be- impact of a movement is typically found to
tween 2001 and 2009 that examined state- be contingent on other circumstances, such
related outcomes of movements; all but 4 of as mobilization occurring during a favorable
the 54 found at least one positive relation- political alignment. In 47 of the 50 instances in
ship between these outcomes and a movement which there was a signicantly positive move-
measure. These measures included the num- ment effect, the inuence was mediatedan
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ber of protest events, membership size, and issue to which we return below.
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organizational density. In 33 instances, these Finally, this scholarship disproportionately


relationships were established through regres- examines the largest U.S. movements; of the
sion analyses controlling for many other poten- 54 movements examined in the articles, 31 in-
tial determinants of the outcomes. In 12 oth- volved U.S. labor, African American civil rights,
ers, comparative and historical analysts selected feminism, nativism, and environmentalism, ve
cases to control for other potential determi- of the six most-covered movement families in
nants of the outcomes, meaning that about 83% the twentieth century (Amenta et al. 2009),
of the movements examined were deemed sig- with 22 for the civil rights and feminist move-
nicantly inuential beyond controls. ments alone. The larger movements have been
Yet, for several reasons, these studies do found to be more inuential. Of the three most-
not conclusively answer the general question covered movements (labor, African American
of whether movements are typically inuential civil rights, and feminism) appearing in re-
and how inuential they have been in compar- search, only 3 of 24 analyses, or 12.5%, found
ison to other potential causes. Almost all the the movement to have either weak or no in-
research is on policy, with only three instances uence; among the rest of the movement cate-
of movements seeking structural inuence. gories, 13 of 30 analyses, or 43%, found weak,
Yet only in 10 cases do researchers address no, or negative inuence.
all legislation or multiple pieces of legislation It is worth discussing why so often research
related to a movements main issue. And even nds that movements exhibit little or no in-
these studies only sometimes separate out uence. For example, McVeigh et al. (2004)
the most key legislation in terms of benets nd that the framing that aided the mobiliza-
it may provide (Amenta et al. 2005, Olzak tion of the Ku Klux Klan dampened its elec-
& Soule 2009). Almost three-fourths of the toral inuence. Cornwall et al. (2007) nd that
movement relationships analyzed (40 out of 54) the womens suffrage movement had no effect
addressed specic policy outcomes of interest in the states where the movement was mobi-
to movements at particular points in time. lized, arguing that the contexts were ripe for
Only one article addressed an issue relating mobilization but not for exerting inuence.
to acceptance, in this instance a movements Skrentny (2006b) nds that although Asian
inuence on electoral results, which was neg- Americans, Latinos, and American Indians ben-
ative (McVeigh et al. 2004). As for the degree eted from Labor Department afrmative ac-
of inuence, using the scholars evaluations tion regulations, the organizations representing
plus our own when these are not supplied, we these groups exerted little effort to gain the ben-
nd that 18 of these ndings indicate a strong ets; by contrast, white ethnic groups sought to

294 Amenta et al.


SO36CH14-Amenta ARI 3 June 2010 0:31

gain these benets but failed because of the per- Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
ceptions of policy makers. Giugni (2007) nds Development does not collect data on social
no inuence of the antiwar movement on mil- movements across capitalist democracies the
itary spending and argues that the high-prole way it does on economics, demographics, and
foreign policy domain limits the viability of party representation; measures of movement
their claims. McAdam & Su (2002) argue that scope or activity, aside from those regarding
the marginal inuence of antiVietnam War labor collected by the International Labor Or-
protest was due to the movements inability to ganization, are typically gained only through
be simultaneously threatening to elites and per- labor-intensive archival research. Comparative
suasive to the public. If antiwar movements face and historical analyses of movement inuence
higher hurdles, however, they have achieved would pose even greater logistical difculties
some inuence (Marullo & Meyer 2004), and given their steep knowledge requirements.
it is worth identifying the conditions under In short, there is conclusive evidence from
which that is possible. More generally, schol- well-crafted studies that the largest movements
Annu. Rev. Sociol. 2010.36:287-307. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org

ars of social movements have also found that have had political impacts on some issues of
by University of California - Irvine on 08/23/12. For personal use only.

certain issues and policies may be very difcult concern to them. Scholars who ignore move-
for movements to inuence, including policies ments in analyses of political issues over which
(a) closely tied to the national cleavage struc- large movements are contending do so at their
ture, (b) for which high levels of political or peril. All the same, it remains difcult to pin-
material resources are at stake, (c) regarding point how much even the larger movements
military matters, or (d ) on which public opin- have mattered in comparison to other actors
ion is very strong (Kriesi et al. 1995, Giugni and structures in relation to specic outcomes
2004, Burstein & Sausner 2005). In these of interest. Also, some types of issues and situ-
policy areas, there are more likely to be pow- ations seem relatively impervious to movement
erful state and nonstate actors working in op- inuence. We discuss at the end of this review
position to the movement. Similarly, in struc- some strategies to make more progress on these
turally unfavorable political contexts in which a questions.
groups democratic rights are greatly restricted
(Amenta 2006), inuence over policy is ex-
tremely difcult to achieve. UNDER WHICH CONDITIONS
Given the magnitude of the task, the global DO MOVEMENTS MATTER
questions have not been addressed systemati- IN POLITICS?
cally by either quantitative or comparative his- The question addressed by most scholarship
torical research. This is largely due to the high focused on movements is the conditions under
data barriers and the general trade-off between which movements matter politically. The
the size of the question and the ability of schol- initial hypotheses about the political impacts of
ars conclusively to answer it. Ascertaining the movements were the same as the hypothesized
degree to which movements have mattered po- determinants of mobilization. Scholars focused
litically would require analyses over long time on a movements mobilizing structures, fram-
periods and across many different movements, ing and other strategies, and political contexts
issue areas, and countries. Scholars would need favorable to mobilization (McAdam et al. 1996).
to demonstrate that movements were at least as These arguments hold that what promotes
causally inuential as various political institu- challengers mobilization will also promote
tions, conditions, and actors previously found their political inuence; in short, specic
to affect policy (Amenta 2003). This sort of forms of challenger organization, strategies
study has not been undertaken in part because (including framing strategies and protest
the movements are difcult to study cross- types), and political opportunities will result in
nationally and over long stretches of time. The both mobilization and political inuence and

www.annualreviews.org Political Consequences of Movements 295


SO36CH14-Amenta ARI 3 June 2010 0:31

benets for mobilized challengers. Although in the South (Andrews 2004). Yet organizations
scholars still address the roles of mobilizing designed to mobilize people and resources
structures, strategies, and political contexts, re- behind a cause may not be best suited to engage
sults indicate that the conditions that produce in the tasks of political inuence, persuasion,
mobilization sometimes make it difcult to or litigation. For example, the Townsend Plan,
achieve inuence at stages in the policy process an organization highly successful in mobilizing
beyond agenda setting. Finally, political me- the elderly, saw its leaders who were in charge
diation arguments reject the search for magic of mobilizing supporters often at odds with
bullets: There are no specic organizational its Washington lobbyists and electoral strate-
forms, strategies, or political contexts that gists, who were relatively understaffed. The
will always help challengers. Instead, scholars organization gained almost a million members
should be looking for specic forms of organi- very quickly in 1934, but it could not present
zation and strategies that are more productive coherent testimony in Congress (Amenta
in some political contexts than in others. 2006). This problem may be alleviated at the
Annu. Rev. Sociol. 2010.36:287-307. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org

movement level; a large number of tactically di-


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verse organizations are associated with political


Mobilization inuence for the civil rights movement (Olzak
The simplest argument has been that mobiliza- & Ryo 2007). In individual SMOs, diverse
tion in itself is likely to be inuential, a throw- leaders and complex leadership structures may
back to rational choice accounts in which once reduce the potential conict between these two
a collective action problem (say, gaining contri- sorts of leaders and missions (Andrews 2004).
butions for pizza) is solved, a collective benet
(pizza) is automatically provided. The ability to
mobilize different sorts of resources is key for Strategies: Framing, Protest,
the impact of movements, and mobilization of and Electoral Activity
resources and membership does provide some The second line of thinking that addresses the
political inuence (Rucht 1999, McCarthy & potential inuence of mobilized challengers
Zald 2002). Because the possibility of having in- focuses on their strategies, singling out for
uence is predicated on SMOs survival, some special attention claims-making and framing
scholars focus on the organizational character- (for a review, see Polletta & Ho 2004). Cress
istics that promote it (Gamson 1990, McCarthy & Snow (2000) argue that for a challenger to
& Zald 2002). Yet, as we note above, political have a policy impact it must employ resonant
inuence is not something SMOs can simply prognostic and diagnostic framesto identify
provide, pizza-like, for themselves. problems and pose credible solutions to them.
Initial debates also addressed which forms McCammon (2009) nds that womens jury
of organization or mobilizing structures rights mobilizations across states that led to
(McAdam et al. 1996) were likely to produce favorable outcomes were those that dened
political gains. Gamson (1990) found that a problem as serious and broad in scope,
bureaucratic SMOs were more likely to gain provided a clear rationale, and offered concrete
new advantages (cf. Piven & Cloward 1977). evidence to support the proposed policy (cf.
SMOs with greater strategic resources are Burstein & Hirsh 2007).
deemed likely to prevail over others in the eld Other problems remain, however, with us-
(Ganz 2000), and resourceful movement infras- ing framing to explain political outcomes. Only
tructures, including diverse leaders, complex rarely is the inuence of frames addressed in
leadership structures, multiple organizations, multivariate contexts (cf. Cress & Snow 2000,
informal ties, and resources coming substan- Burstein & Hirsh 2007, McCammon 2009).
tially from members, brought gains in policy For movements to be inuential, their frames
implementation for the civil rights movement need to be minimally plausible and culturally

296 Amenta et al.


SO36CH14-Amenta ARI 3 June 2010 0:31

resonant (Taylor & Van Dyke 2004), but their for which the response of political authorities to
value likely varies by setting. Amenta (2006) collective action is expected to be rapid.
nds that the Townsend Plans frames did not There has not been nearly as much work,
change much, but its inuence varied greatly however, on the strategies that work through
over time. More important, frames that help slow-moving processes. This is a major gap, as
mobilize supporters may be counterproductive this includes most movement collective action
in trying to inuence policy makers (Lipsky addressing political institutions and electoral
1968, Mansbridge 1986). McVeigh et al. (2004) politics, as well as legal challenges. Although
nd that the frames that helped the Ku Klux scholars tend to view movement action ad-
Klan mobilize constituents, using an us/them dressing institutional politics as assimilative
boundary, impeded its ability to inuence elec- and likely to be less inuential than protest,
tions. Amenta (2006) nds that the Townsend electoral strategies, such as supporting favored
Plans call for generous $200 monthly pen- candidates and opposing disfavored ones, are
sions, designed to mobilize elderly supporters, often far more assertive and inuential in
Annu. Rev. Sociol. 2010.36:287-307. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org

was used by opponents to reduce public sup- politics (Clemens 1997, Amenta et al. 2005).
by University of California - Irvine on 08/23/12. For personal use only.

port for its sponsored legislation, which pro- Political actors seek to gain reelection and to
vided more modest stipends. Pedriana (2006) act on party principles and personal values and
nds that rights frames work best in legal set- are typically much less afraid of movements
tings regardless of how well they work for mo- threatening, say, to occupy their ofces than
bilization or political campaigns (see review in to drive them out of ofce. The nding that
McCann 2006). More generally, SMO lead- movements are less inuential in later parts of
ers must nd ways to alter their mobilization the policy process may mean that the forms of
frames in addressing political decision makers organization, frames, and strategies applicable
or courts, or they must cede control over these to mobilization are unhelpful at best in later
processes to other SMOs or like-minded pol- stages of the policy process, or that protest has
icy makers. Scholars need to address simulta- great limits as a movement strategy.
neously the frames used to mobilize movement Beyond protest, social movements seek to
support and to exert inuence in political set- have inuence over politics through electoral
tings (Evans 1997). activity (Goldstone 2003, Banaszak 2005, Earl
Working from the hypothesis that specic & Schussman 2004, Koopmans 2004, Meyer
strategies will work differently at individual 2005), seeking sustained leverage and not sim-
phases of the policy cycle, recent scholarship ply a quick reaction. Yet there is little re-
has focused on the impact of protest for threat, search on movement inuence over elections
protest for persuasion (Andrews & Edwards and the political inuence gained through such
2004), and institutional protest, as well as on the electoral support. Fetner (2008) nds that the
political agenda-setting stage of the policy pro- Christian Right inuenced the Republican plat-
cess. Protest for threat is characterized by with- form on gay rights issues, and Micklethwait
holding compliance with political and other & Wooldridge (2005) argue that George W.
institutions, whereas protest for persuasion is Bushs campaigns relied on foot soldiers from
meant to inuence politicians by winning over the Christian Right, gun rights, and antiabor-
bystanders through large-scale demonstrations tion movements. However, Green et al. (2001)
of support, such as peaceful marches. Olzak nd that support for the Christian Right ac-
& Soule (2009) nd that institutional environ- counted less for electoral outcomes across states
mental protest events inuenced congressional than did the accessibility of the political party
hearings, which are associated with policy ac- nomination processes to the movement (see
tion (Baumgartner & Mahoney 2005). Protest also Kellstedt et al. 1994). Andrews (2004)
of all types, however, works through what nds that African American candidates elected
Andrews (2004) calls the action/reaction model, to ofce across Mississippi counties depended

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SO36CH14-Amenta ARI 3 June 2010 0:31

signicantly on the strength of the local civil however, the political contexts that promote
rights movement. Amenta et al. (1992) nd mobilization, especially those in which a move-
that Townsend Plan mobilization positively in- ments constituency is threatened, do not al-
uenced whether its endorsed representatives ways increase the productivity of collective ac-
were elected. Amenta et al. (2005) also found tion by challengers (Meyer & Minkoff 2004,
that endorsed legislators in ofce signicantly Soule & King 2006, Cornwall et al. 2007).
increased spending on old-age programs, and
senators willingness to vote for a key old-
age pension bill depended in part on electoral Political Mediation Models
action. Finally, many scholars have developed differ-
ent political mediation accounts of social move-
ment consequences (Piven & Cloward 1977,
Political Context Amenta et al. 1992, Skocpol 1992, Amenta
A third argument is that once a challenger is 2006). According to political mediation mod-
Annu. Rev. Sociol. 2010.36:287-307. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org

mobilized the main thing inuencing its im- els, in a democratic political system mobiliz-
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pact is the political context or opportunity ing relatively large numbers of committed peo-
structure. Early claims that in open states with ple and making plausible claims are necessary
strong administrative capacities challengers will for movements to achieve political inuence.
achieve policy gains (Kitschelt 1986, Kriesi et al. Yet a challengers action is more likely to pro-
1995; see Kriesi 2004) have been criticized on duce results when institutional political actors
the grounds that, within any country, move- see benet in aiding the group the challenger
ment inuence has varied over time (Amenta represents (Almeida & Stearns 1998, Jacobs &
et al. 2002) and that a states bureaucratic ca- Helms 2001, Kane 2003). To secure new bene-
pacities vary by issue (Giugni 2004). Others ts, challengers will typically need help or com-
rely on more ne-grained conceptual develop- plementary action from like-minded state ac-
ments in political sociology (see Amenta et al. tors. This requires engaging in collective action
2002, Banaszak et al. 2003), arguing that long- that changes the calculations of institutional po-
standing characteristics of states and political litical actors, such as elected ofcials and state
institutionsthe polity structure, the democ- bureaucrats, and adopting organizational forms
ratization of state institutions, electoral rules and strategic action that t political circum-
and procedures, and existing state policies stances. For a movement to be inuential, state
inuence the prospects of challenges. The actors need to see it as potentially facilitating
centralization and division of power between or disrupting their own goalsaugmenting or
each branch of government mean both mul- cementing new electoral coalitions, gaining in
tiple points of access and veto. The level of public opinion, increasing the support for the
democratization inuences mobilization (Tilly missions of governmental bureaus.
1999), and the bases for exclusion from demo- Political mediation arguments can rely
cratic processes increase the likelihood that on action/reaction models of inuence, such
groups will mobilize along these lines, such as Piven & Clowards (1977) argument that
as African American civil rights in the U.S. disruptive collective action by poor people in
context (McAdam 1999) and workers in the times of electoral instability induces public
European one (Rueschemeyer et al. 1992). spending (see also Fording 2001). But most
Electoral rules such as winner-take-all systems political mediation arguments work through
discourage the formation of new political par- slow-moving processes. For instance, Skocpol
ties (Schwartz 2000). The relative representa- (2003) argues that mass-based interest organi-
tion of U.S. Democrats has been shown to am- zations have to t the U.S. political context to
plify the impact of nonconservative movements be inuential over the long term, which means
(Meyer & Minkoff 2004). Equally important, gaining a wide geographical presence to cover

298 Amenta et al.


SO36CH14-Amenta ARI 3 June 2010 0:31

a district-based Congress; recent advocacy Political mediation arguments also hold that
organizations with Washington bases and many simultaneous circumstances, some move-
paper memberships often fail to do so. Other ment related and some not, are required to ef-
scholars argue that particular strategies work fect extensive change (McAdam & Su 2002,
best in the U.S. political context (Bernstein Amenta et al. 2005, Amenta 2006, Giugni
2001, Szymanski 2003). Recent work makes 2007). In the U.S. setting, where controlling
and tests claims about the inuence of different the government through a party is rarely an
strategies at different points in the political option, a national challenger with far-reaching
process (McAdam & Su 2002, Cornwall et al. goals is likely to need (a) a favorable parti-
2007, Olzak & Soule 2009) or in different san context, (b) its issue already on the agenda,
political contexts (Kriesi et al. 1995, Cress & (c) high challenger organization and mobiliza-
Snow 2000, Ingram & Rao 2004, Linders 2004, tion, (d ) credible claims-making directed at
Soule & Olzak 2004, McCammon et al. 2008). elites and the general public, and (e) plausible
More generally, the political mediation ar- assertive action such as electoral strategies that
Annu. Rev. Sociol. 2010.36:287-307. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org

gument holds that challengers need to alter seek to punish policy opponents and aid friends
by University of California - Irvine on 08/23/12. For personal use only.

strategies and forms to address specic polit- (Amenta et al. 2005, Amenta 2006). The same is
ical contexts, such as the level of democratiza- likely to be true for bids to transform the struc-
tion in the polity, the partisan regime in power, tural position of groups, such as through voting
and the development of bureaucratic authority or civil rights. Giugni (2007) similarly argues
surrounding the issue at hand (Amenta et al. that a movement must also have public opin-
2005, Amenta 2006). The standard distinction ion in its favor to effect major change (see also
between disruptive and assimilative strategies Olzak & Soule 2009; cf. Amenta et al. 2005,
is dropped in favor of addressing assertive- Agnone 2007).
ness, i.e., increasingly strong sanctions beyond The explanatory value of political media-
protest. If the political regime is supportive and tion arguments is underlined by recent liter-
the domestic bureaucrats are professionalized ature on social movements. Of the 50 positive
and supportive, limited or symbolic protest is relationships found, 47, or 94%, found that the
likely to be sufcient to provide inuence. By size of the effect of the movement activity or
contrast, achieving collective benets through size indicator varied by other factors interact-
public policy is likely to be more difcult with- ing with it. Of these other factors, the most fre-
out a supportive regime or an administrative quently noted was the partisan political context,
authority, and more assertive collective action involving 18 movements; another 6 addressed
is required. The sanctions in assertive institu- the stage in the legislative process (see Table 1).
tional collective action threaten to increase or Another set of interactions of note included 11
decrease the likelihood of gaining or keeping involving different sorts of tactics. Only 5 exam-
something valuable to political actorsoften inations of movements did not attempt to model
their positions. The institutional collective ac- any sort of interaction. Two articles (Soule &
tion of challengers works largely by mobilizing Olzak 2004, Giugni 2007) reported examining
many people behind a course of activity and thus interaction effects, but they did not nd any sig-
demonstrates that a large segment of the elec- nicant ones.
torate cares strongly about an issue. These the- In short, research on the political inu-
oretical claims have the advantage of specifying ence of movements has advanced beyond de-
political conditions and making links between ploying the hypotheses initially used to explain
systemic political contexts and more short-term mobilization. Scholars have developed more
ones. Consistent with these claims are research complex theoretical ideas about the conditions
ndings that diverse tactics or organizational under which inuence occurs, specifying inter-
types at the movement level produce political actions between aspects of movements and their
gains (Olzak & Ryo 2007, Johnson 2008). actions and other political actors and political

www.annualreviews.org Political Consequences of Movements 299


SO36CH14-Amenta ARI 3 June 2010 0:31

contexts, often deploying concepts from polit- scholars do not typically address how the case
ical science and political sociology. These ar- analyzed compares to or contrasts with other
guments and ndings regarding the conditions cases. Here we briey address the ways schol-
under which movements might be inuential ars have sought to clear these methodological
bear on the question of how inuential move- hurdles and suggest some additional ways over.
ments have been and can possibly be. If in these The recent wave of research has tested the
causal recipes for major political change such potential impact of challengers while address-
as alterations in democratization, major domes- ing alternative arguments mainly traditionally,
tic policy gains, or withdrawal from participa- by gathering data on many ecological units.
tion in war, mobilization is a minor ingredient This scholarship has gained information on a
for which substitutes are available, then move- movements or SMOs presence and activities,
ments are likely rarely to matter greatly. If mo- other potential determinants of political
bilization and specic lines of assertive action outcomes, and the outcomes themselves.
are necessary ingredients, the role of move- Employing inferential statistical methods on
Annu. Rev. Sociol. 2010.36:287-307. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org

ments in such major changes is much greater. these units facilitates the assessment of the
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The results suggest that less dramatic changes impact of a challenger relative to those of
such as reaching the policy agenda stage or aug- other relevant conditions and the examination
menting existing policies seem to require few of limited numbers of interactions. Some of
conditions. these analyses have taken cross-sectional form,
comparing movement inuence across coun-
tries (Paxton et al. 2006) or across subnational
HOW TO TELL IF units such as states, provinces (Banaszak 1996,
MOVEMENTS MATTER? McCammon et al. 2001, Ingram & Rao 2004,
Analyzing the state-related consequences of so- Amenta et al. 2005), or counties (Andrews
cial movements poses a series of methodologi- 2001, McVeigh et al. 2006). Recently, quan-
cal hurdles for empirical appraisals of theoreti- titative analyses have addressed temporality by
cal claims. Establishing a challengers impact on examining movements over time (McAdam &
states means to demonstrate that state-related Su 2002, Giugni 2004, Olzak & Soule 2009).
collective goods would not have appeared in Models can employ lags as appropriate and
the absence of the movement or specic actions accommodate time-varying covariates in the
taken by it. Determining whether a movement analyses. Researchers use (a) time-series anal-
had any consequences and, if so, which ones is ysis for individual cases (McAdam & Su 2002);
not an easy task (Amenta & Young 1999, Tilly (b) hazard-rate models in multiple-case data
1999, Earl 2000). Usually there are many sets of when the outcome is dichotomous, such as state
actors in areas of concern to social movements, ratication of the Equal Rights Amendment
and these actors and other conditions may inu- (Soule & Olzak 2004); and (c) generalized linear
ence outcomes of interest to challengers. These regression models when the outcome is con-
other potential determinants thus have to be tinuous (Amenta et al. 2005, Brooks & Manza
taken into account in assessing the impact of 2006). These studies sometimes pool time
challengers. Further difculties arise from the series and cross sections across subunits such as
fact that recent theoretical claims often specify states (Soule & Olzak 2004, Amenta et al. 2005).
the mediation of the inuence of challengers These quantitative case studies usefully
and their activity through some other set of could be augmented by historical analyses of
determinants. Some additional methodological the political process in the development of
problems are due to the fact that so many re- legislation. Historical analyses are the best way
searchers are engaged in case studies of large to examine the inuences of movements that go
movements. Research on large movements may beyond a quick response. Also, most arguments
have few implications for small ones, and about the impact of collective action specify

300 Amenta et al.


SO36CH14-Amenta ARI 3 June 2010 0:31

theoretical mechanisms, indicating linkages presented by political mediation models, as it


between various causes and effects, and schol- is designed to address combinational and mul-
ars can trace historical processes to address tiple causation (Ragin 2008). FsQCA has been
whether hypothesized theoretical mechanisms employed in studies of political consequences
occur (Tilly 1999, Andrews 2004, George & of social movements across U.S. states (Amenta
Bennett 2005). To make a convincing claim of et al. 2005, McCammon et al. 2008), cities
movement inuence, historical analyses need (Cress & Snow 2000), and counties (McVeigh
to demonstrate that the challenger changed et al. 2006). FsQCA can select on high values of
the plans and agendas of political leaders; the the dependent measure (Ragin 2008), making it
content of the proposals devised by executives, well suited to identifying pathways to unusual,
legislators, or administrators; the votes of rep- but theoretically and substantively interesting
resentatives key to the passage of legislation; outcomessuch as movements having a major
or the speed or nature of implementation impactand provides signicance tests and can
(Amenta 2006), typically by relying on primary address temporality (Caren & Panofsky 2005).
Annu. Rev. Sociol. 2010.36:287-307. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org

documents including contemporary testimony


by University of California - Irvine on 08/23/12. For personal use only.

and news accounts and memoirs.


Historical analyses can be buttressed in sev- CONCLUSION
eral ways. One way is through small-N histor- In the past decade there has been
ical comparisons across two or more countries extensive research on the political conse-
(Banaszak 1996, Linders 2004, Halfmann 2010) quences of movements. The biggest and
or other units (Amenta 2006, Dixon 2008), best-studied movements have been shown to
or across collective action campaigns (Amenta be politically inuential in various ways, and
2006, Dixon 2008, Halfmann 2010). Media- movement protest is especially inuential in
tion arguments can be examined by compar- helping to set policy agendas. Also, scholars
isons across challengers with different levels have been advancing beyond initial one-factor
of mobilization and strategic approaches at a hypotheses derived mainly from analyses of
given place and time (Clemens 1997), or across mobilization and have been theorizing about
places in which one challenger is mobilized in the politically mediated effects of movements.
different ways (Dixon 2008) or employing dif- These ideas take into account nonmovement
ferent strategies (Amenta 2006), while holding factors inuential in politics and posit interac-
constant key alternative causal claims. Com- tive effects among movements, their strategies,
bining historical analyses with large-N quan- and political contextual conditions. Because of
titative or formal qualitative analyses can have the complexity of theoretical arguments and
synergistic effects on knowledge accumulation. data limitations on movements and their activ-
The detailed information necessary to engage ities, scholars typically employ case or small-N
in historical studies makes it easier to pinpoint studies, but they have done so in increasingly
key legislative or other political changes, to de- sophisticated ways, analyzing overtime or
lineate historical cutoff points for time-series subnational units for multivariate analyses,
analyses, and to devise valid indicators of con- occasionally across countries, and sometimes
cepts (Amenta et al. 2005, Amenta 2006, Chen deploying formal qualitative techniques.
2007). Small-N analyses can also be usefully Yet much work remains to be done.
combined with quantitative analyses (Banaszak Scholars need to address theoretically the
1996, Giugni 2004). potential problems that the organizational
Another way to take advantage of ecolog- forms, framing and other strategies, and
ical data sets and to employ detailed histor- political contexts that promote mobilization
ical knowledge is to use fuzzy set qualitative pose for achieving political inuence beyond
comparative analysis (fsQCA). FsQCA can ad- protest. Similarly, more thought is needed
dress the more complex theoretical arguments regarding the political process beyond agenda

www.annualreviews.org Political Consequences of Movements 301


SO36CH14-Amenta ARI 3 June 2010 0:31

setting and the impact of movement action other political outcomes. Qualitative studies
aside from protest. Scholars need to explore can address the big questions about major
further movement action aimed at electoral structural shifts in politics related to move-
politics, which has often been claimed to be ments: Did the African American civil rights
politically inuential but has rarely been shown movement bring about civil and voting rights?
to be inuential (Amenta et al. 2005, Amenta Did the womens suffrage movement cause
2006). women to gain suffrage? Is the labor movement
In the quantitative case studies prominent responsible for legislation regarding worker
in recent research, scholars should prioritize organization? Although there is the standard
the policies most consequential to challengers trade-off between the size of the question and
and try to pinpoint how much movements have the ability of research to provide conclusive
mattered in comparison with other determi- answers, current research has tilted toward the
nants of outcomes. Structural changes such as more easily answered questions. More gener-
winning democratic rights and major policy ally, scholars may want to train their attention
Annu. Rev. Sociol. 2010.36:287-307. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org

transformations should be at the top of the list. on the main political outcomes of interest to
by University of California - Irvine on 08/23/12. For personal use only.

Quantitative case studies can also exploit the movements, such as civil and voting rights for
advantages of fsQCA, which can address both the African American civil rights movement
the interactions specied by political mediation (McAdam 1999), old-age pensions for the
arguments and the more unusual situation old-age pension movement (Amenta 2006),
of major changes induced by movements. or abortion policy for the abortion rights and
Also, instead of theorizing about their cases antiabortion movements (Halfmann 2010). In
as if they were typicalexpecting that broad these analyses, scholars can address whether,
explanatory claims and ndings should apply to how much, and for what reasons movements
all movements (cf. McAdam & Su 2002, Giugni mattered in key episodes of political change.
2004)scholars should think more about what To address the degree to which movements
sort of case their case is (Ragin & Becker 1992) have mattered and to test complex arguments
and make relevant comparisons with ndings about the mediation of inuence will, however,
regarding other movements. Also, it would require research designs that compare across
be valuable to address less prominent cases, several movements and over long stretches of
as most recent research has been about the time. Without scholarship comparing across
African American civil rights, feminist, and movements, the demonstrated inuence of in-
environmental movements. It is also important dividual movements over specic outcomes is
to address the fact that movements are not difcult to place in perspective. One way to do
always attempting to create new policies, so is to compare a small number of historically
but rather sometimes are ghting to alter or similar movements with greatly different results
replace entrenched unfavorable policies or de- in political inuence. Moreover, social move-
fend favorable ones (Baumgartner & Mahoney ment measures should be devised and included
2005). Similarly, scholars have paid only scant in standard cross-national quantitative analyses
attention to bids for inuence through the of major social policy outcomes such as those
courts (Skrentny 2006a) or indirectly through regarding social spending, as has been done
elections (Andrews 2004). regarding public opinion (Brooks & Manza
Less prominent in case studies have been 2006). Recent work (Amenta et al. 2009) sug-
deep historical analyses to address major gests that there have been about 34 major move-
institutional changes and to appraise the mech- ments over the last century in the United States,
anisms and time-order aspects of theoretical and these might be compared comprehensively
arguments. These analyses can more easily for their inuence in the manner of Gamsons
address the impact of movements on electoral (1990) study of movement organizations. Com-
politics and from there move on to policies and parative and historical studies that examine the

302 Amenta et al.


SO36CH14-Amenta ARI 3 June 2010 0:31

population of movements over time in one answering the big questions about overall
country, or an entire movement across many movement inuence and in testing hypoth-
countries, taking into account other poten- esized interactions among movement form,
tial inuences on outcomes, would go far in strategies, and political contexts.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
The authors are not aware of any afliations, memberships, funding, or nancial holdings that
might be perceived as affecting the objectivity of this review.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank Kenneth T. Andrews, David S. Meyer, Francesca Polletta, and John D. Skrentny for
Annu. Rev. Sociol. 2010.36:287-307. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org

helpful comments and criticisms.


by University of California - Irvine on 08/23/12. For personal use only.

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Annual Review
of Sociology

Contents Volume 36, 2010

Frontispiece
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John W. Meyer p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p xiv


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Prefatory Chapter
World Society, Institutional Theories, and the Actor
John W. Meyer p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 1

Theory and Methods


Causal Inference in Sociological Research
Markus Gangl p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p21
Causal Mechanisms in the Social Sciences
Peter Hedstrom and Petri Ylikoski p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p49

Social Processes
A World of Standards but not a Standard World: Toward a Sociology
of Standards and Standardization
Stefan Timmermans and Steven Epstein p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p69
Dynamics of Dyads in Social Networks: Assortative, Relational,
and Proximity Mechanisms
Mark T. Rivera, Sara B. Soderstrom, and Brian Uzzi p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p91
From the Sociology of Intellectuals to the Sociology of Interventions
Gil Eyal and Larissa Buchholz p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 117
Social Relationships and Health Behavior Across the Life Course
Debra Umberson, Robert Crosnoe, and Corinne Reczek p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 139
Partiality of Memberships in Categories and Audiences
Michael T. Hannan p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 159

v
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Institutions and Culture


What Is Sociological about Music?
William G. Roy and Timothy J. Dowd p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 183
Cultural Holes: Beyond Relationality in Social Networks and Culture
Mark A. Pachucki and Ronald L. Breiger p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 205

Formal Organizations
Organizational Approaches to Inequality: Inertia, Relative Power,
and Environments
Kevin Stainback, Donald Tomaskovic-Devey, and Sheryl Skaggs p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 225
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Political and Economic Sociology


The Contentiousness of Markets: Politics, Social Movements,
and Institutional Change in Markets
Brayden G King and Nicholas A. Pearce p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 249
Conservative and Right-Wing Movements
Kathleen M. Blee and Kimberly A. Creasap p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 269
The Political Consequences of Social Movements
Edwin Amenta, Neal Caren, Elizabeth Chiarello, and Yang Su p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 287
Comparative Analyses of Public Attitudes Toward Immigrants
and Immigration Using Multinational Survey Data: A Review
of Theories and Research
Alin M. Ceobanu and Xavier Escandell p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 309

Differentiation and Stratification


Income Inequality: New Trends and Research Directions
Leslie McCall and Christine Percheski p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 329
Socioeconomic Disparities in Health Behaviors
Fred C. Pampel, Patrick M. Krueger, and Justin T. Denney p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 349
Gender and Health Inequality
Jennan Ghazal Read and Bridget K. Gorman p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 371
Incarceration and Stratication
Sara Wakeeld and Christopher Uggen p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 387
Achievement Inequality and the Institutional Structure of Educational
Systems: A Comparative Perspective
Herman G. Van de Werfhorst and Jonathan J.B. Mijs p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 407

vi Contents
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Historical Studies of Social Mobility and Stratication


Marco H.D. van Leeuwen and Ineke Maas p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 429

Individual and Society


Race and Trust
Sandra Susan Smith p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 453
Three Faces of Identity
Timothy J. Owens, Dawn T. Robinson, and Lynn Smith-Lovin p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 477

Policy
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The New Homelessness Revisited


by University of California - Irvine on 08/23/12. For personal use only.

Barrett A. Lee, Kimberly A. Tyler, and James D. Wright p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 501


The Decline of Cash Welfare and Implications for Social Policy
and Poverty
Sandra K. Danziger p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 523

Indexes

Cumulative Index of Contributing Authors, Volumes 2736 p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 547


Cumulative Index of Chapter Titles, Volumes 2736 p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p 551

Errata

An online log of corrections to Annual Review of Sociology articles may be found at


http://soc.annualreviews.org/errata.shtml

Contents vii

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