This is a significant contribution to the worldwide discussion of political self-determination as a source of socio-cultural and political hope, conflict and confusion. Inspired by Martin Ennals, long the quietly visionary Director-General of Amnesty International, the book consists of cases and penetratingly definitive analyses, culminating in trenchant recommendations for action by world bodies. With self-determination intensely at issue so widely, from the former Yugoslavia to Kashmir to Quebec, this distinguished book by a global group of experts is particularly timely.

Nationalist movements in the South have been superseded by a plethora of different social movements. This book examines these new movements and considers emerging paradigms of organization and mobilization, which are related to the role movements play in economic and political development. The book analyzes a number of cases and their context and discusses the implications for social movement theory. The focus is on social movements among underprivileged and middle class groups, and the book is global in scope.

This book presents a study of the development of the feminist movement in Britain and America during the 19th century. Acknowledging the similar social conditions in both countries during that period, the author suggests that a real sense of distinctiveness did exist between British and American feminists. American feminists were inspired by their own perception of the superiority of their social circumstances, for example, whereas British feminists found their cause complicated by traditional considerations of class. Christine Bolt aims to show that the story of the American and British women's movement is one of national distinctiveness within an international cause. This book should be of interest to students and teachers of American and British political history and women's studies.

Who should provide food, and through what relationships? Whose livelihoods should be protected? For over 20 years the peasant farmers of La Via Campesina have been engaged in the fight against injustice, hunger and poverty under the banner of food sovereignty, 'the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems'. They campaign for healthy, sustainable alternatives to an industrial food system controlled by agribusiness companies and the architects of unfair trade agreements. This book draws on grounded case studies of agrarian movements in the Americas and Europe as exemplars of a 'power shift,' as local opposition scales up to global action in an effort to wrest control of our food away from transnational corporations and back to communities.

This is the first scholarly study of late Victorian and Edwardian peace activism, the precursor to the pacifism of the 1930s and later. The movement's activists included Richard Cobden, Herbert Spencer, Keir Hardie, J. A. Hobson, and Norman Angell, and it made a significant impact on public debate over issues such as the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1 and the international crisis leading up to the First World War.

Explores the need for political science to pay more attention to complex interactions involving politically relevant groups. Distinguished contributors report on data from around the world and at different levels of political decision making - from 'below the radar' in local communities to global negations at the World Trade Organization.

"They assess the effectiveness of the organizing tactics employed, casting particular scrutiny on the courts as agents of social change...The authors have presented concrete examples, all the while making clear that there are no road maps for successful organizing."
-- "New York Law Journal"

"This is an important and unusual booka].It is an academic book on an important issue
--the environmental justice movement
--that is timely and relevant."
--"Argumentation and Advocacy"

When Bill Clinton signed an Executive Order on Environmental Justice in 1994, the phenomenon of environmental racism--the disproportionate impact of environmental hazards, particularly toxic waste dumps and polluting factories, on people of color and low-income communities--gained unprecedented recognition. Behind the President's signature, however, lies a remarkable tale of grassroots activism and political mobilization. Today, thousands of activists in hundreds of locales are fighting for their children, their communities, their quality of life, and their health.

From the Ground Up critically examines one of the fastest growing social movements in the United States, the movement for environmental justice. Tracing the movement's roots, Luke Cole and Sheila Foster combine long-time activism with powerful storytelling to provide gripping case studies of communities across the U.S--towns like Kettleman City, California; Chester, Pennsylvania; and Dilkon, Arizona--and their struggles against corporate polluters. The authors effectively use social, economic and legal analysis to illustrate the historical and contemporary causes for environmental racism. Environmental justice struggles, theydemonstrate, transform individuals, communities, institutions and even the nation as a whole.

The Federal Republic of Germany has long been held up as a 'model society' on account of its economic and social policy achievements. Largely ignored, however, has been the crucial part played by extra-parliamentary protest in the maturing of democracy in that society. In this, the first comprehensive study of the subject in English, the authors trace the rich history of political protest in West Germany and examine the political role of critical intellectuals. The book will give the reader a good understanding of the crucial changes that have taken place in the political culture of the Federal Republic since the mid 1960s.

The Arab Spring put non-governmental public action centre-stage in the drive for greater social justice. Governments, politicians and international institutions increasingly court non-governmental public actors, engaging them in policy dialogue, inviting them to participate in the delivery of social services, and looking to them to re-invigorate democratic politics. This unique collection explores the different organizational forms, strategies and tactics that activists adopt to pursue social justice goals and analyses how histories of resistance impinge on contemporary activism in both positive and negative ways. The authors examine how established corporatist trades unions struggle to reform as new forms of labour resistance challenge their legitimacy and proximity to government. They analyse how non-governmental public actors negotiate various 'civil society dilemmas' that emerge in the new spaces for collaboration opened up by government, focusing particularly on threats to their values, autonomy and legitimacy. They also explore the efforts of non-governmental public actors to secure greater justice in the sphere of production and distribution, be that through co-operatives or through consumer rights activism around access to essential drugs.

"This new encyclopedia will be invaluable for political science and history reference collections. . . . Highly recommended." Library Journal

Lobbying, Pluralism and Democracy investigates lobbying on three levels. It describes how lobbying is being practiced in Washington, DC and focuses on its techniques, personnel, and also its forms of regulation. Although a recent phenomenon, lobbying also raises older dilemmas which are discussed in Part II with particular reference to the work of Montesquieu, Madison, Tocqueville, and contemporary pluralists. The study also analyzes "private" representation in the light of the special/public interests dichotomy, and the extent to which "public interest groups" may effectively secure a broader coverage of societal needs.

This book presents 14 case studies of lobbying campaigns recently directed toward influencing policy and decisions in the EU, and illustrates the effects of recent wide-ranging change. Company lobbying has changed as cross-border mergers have concentrated their activity. The balance of power between member state governments and their devolved regions has shifted, and the regions are increasingly active players. The ability of NGOs to take a recognized part in policy formulation has increased and this change is accelerating. The included cases have been selected to illustrate the range of interest groups who lobby, and to broaden the coverage of lobbying cases in Europe.

In 1783, the officers of the Continental Army created the Society of the Cincinnati. This veterans' organization was founded in order to preserve the memory of the revolutionary struggle and pursue the officers' common interest in outstanding pay and pensions. Henry Knox and Frederick Steuben were the society's chief organizers; George Washington himself served as president. Soon, however, a widely distributed pamphlet by Aedanus Burke of South Carolina accused the Society of conspiracy. According to Burke, the Society of the Cincinnati was nothing less than a hereditary nobility which would subvert American republicanism into aristocracy. Soon, more critics including John Adams and Elbridge Gerry joined the fray, claiming among other things that the Society was a secret government for the United States or a puppet of the French monarchy. While these accusations were unjustified, they played an important role in the difficult political debates of the 1780s, including the efforts to revise the Articles of Confederation. This books explores why a part of the revolutionary leadership accused another of subversion in the "critical period," and how the political culture of the times predisposed many leading Americans to think of the Cincinnati as a conspiracy.

The theory and practice of communism today does not adhere rigidly to the dogma of the Communist Party. This book provides a systematic comparison of Trotsyist and Maoist politics in theory and practice. Pulling together material from widely scattered sources into a comprehensive framework, "Trotskyism and Maoism" follows the development of the Trotskyist and Maoist movements in France and in the United States from the 1930s to the present. Scholars of political theory, Western European studies, and social history will applaud its publication.

The decision by multinational Shell not to dispose of the Brent Spar oil facility in the North Atlantic was taken after several occupations of the structure by Greenpeace, and as a result of large scale pro-Greenpeace protest in the UK, Germany and other countries. This case is often cited to show the power of single-issue groups to force big business to rethink the importance of environmental issues. However, research shows Shell changed its mind on the Brent Spar issue because of the corporate structure of the company and reluctance to bear the bad publicity. Grant Jordan considers the role of scientific advice in shaping governmental decisions on matters such as BSE, genetically modified foods, and global warming.

This volume addresses an important and problematic aspect of NGO activities in Africa: NGO-African state relations. The authors of this volume offer case studies that provide insights into the range of NGO activities that address the questions: what do NGO activities mean for the African State? and how are the relationships of NGOs and African states changing? Each chapter contains a rich investigation and analysis communicating many of the practical aspects of African state-NGO relations, as well as many insights relevant to the major theories and models available to researchers in the field.

"Competitive Interests" does more than simply challenge the long -held belief that a small set of interests control large domains of the public policy making landscape. It shows how the explosion in the sheer number of new groups, and the broad range of ideological demands they advocate, have created a form of group politics emphasizing compromise as much as conflict. Thomas T. Holyoke offers a model of strategic lobbying that shows why some group lobbyists feel compelled to fight stronger, wealthier groups even when they know they will lose.

Holyoke interviewed 83 lobbyists who have been advocates on several contentious issues, including Arctic oil drilling, environmental conservation, regulating genetically modified foods, money laundering, and bankruptcy reform. He offers answers about what kinds of policies are more likely to lead to intense competition and what kinds of interest groups have an advantage in protracted conflicts. He also discusses the negative consequences of group competition, such as legislative gridlock, and discusses what lawmakers can do to steer interest groups toward compromise. The book concludes with an exploration of greater group competition, conflict, and compromise and what consequences this could have for policymaking in a representation-based political system.

These in-depth profiles of major non-governmental organizations show how they compete to protect consumer or business interests ranging across all stages of American life from baby foods to funerals. The analyses of 109 interest groups portray a wide array of the political tactics that have helped shape consumer policy over the past generation. Drawing upon materials from the organizations themselves, as well as from other original and secondary sources, the profiles depict who the groups represent, their goals, how they were founded, their resources, organizational structures and procedures, the services and benefits that they offer, the issues that they address, and the tactics that they use to affect federal policy. Students, teachers, policymakers, administrators, consumer and business activities and interest group watchdogs will learn through this pioneering new reference who gets what in the marketplace and in politics and why. Drawing upon materials from the organizations themselves, as well as from other original and secondary sources, the profiles depict who the groups represent, their goals, how they were founded, their resources, organization structures and procedures, and the services and benefits that they offer. The profiles also describe specific issues that the groups address, their positions, and their tactics and ways in which they try to affect federal policymaking-from boycotts to group buying, research, testifying before congressional committees, serving on executive department advisory committees, election candidate ratings, filing lawsuits, publicizing research results, becoming media experts on particular subjects, and persuading members to contact a member of Congress. Students, teachers, policymakers, administrators, consumer and business activists and watchdogs will learn through this pioneering new reference who gets what in the marketplace and in politics and why.

This volume analyses the interaction of business lobbyists, consumer critics, and government officials for the first time in 20 years. It offers important new insights and revisionist views about the impact of consumer issue networks in the making of public policy in Congress during the 1980s and 1990s. It shows how consumer groups lobby Congressional committees and their leaders and staffers to reform legislation in areas of critical concern. This text for undergraduate and graduate courses in American politics, business and government, lobbying and interest group behavior, and political sociology covers the expanding range and activities of consumer lobbyists in recent years and gives a short history of their role in Congressional decisionmaking from the Progressive and New Deal eras to the present. The study details their activities in terms of civic outcomes (campaign finance, intervenor funding, freedom of information); consumer protection (impure food, unsafe drugs, autos, toys, and household appliances); economic regulation and deregulation (airlines, financing services, trucking, and telecommunications); and highly politicized pocketbook issues (health care, tax, energy, income, and trade policies). Journalists, activists, and students of politics, business administration, and sociology will find the conclusions about consumers, businesses, and Congressional decisionmaking and the arguments for government and citizen activism arresting.

The author analyzes the considerable legislation enacted between 1945 and 1970 and its effect on labour-management-public relations. He looks at their relevance for Britain today, and offers the most complete survey yet available of the operations of American labour as a pressure group.

"A valuable resourcea]the names of the authors and activists within it are undoubtedly ones we will encounter again and again over the decades to come."
--"Sojourner"

Still Lifting, Still Climbing is the first volume of its kind to document African American women's activism in the wake of the civil rights movement.

Covering grassroots and national movements alike, contributors explore black women's mobilization around such areas as the black nationalist movements, the Million Man March, black feminism, anti-rape movements, mass incarceration, the U.S. Congress, welfare rights, health care, and labor organizing. Detailing the impact of post-1960s African American women's activism, they provide a much-needed update to the historical narrative.

Ideal for course use, the volume includes original essays as well as primary source documents such as first-hand accounts of activism and statements of purpose. Each contributor carefully situates their topic within its historical framework, providing an accessible context for those unfamiliar with black women's history, and demonstrating that African American women's political agency does not emerge from a vacuum, but is part of a complex system of institutions, economics, and personal beliefs.

This ambitious volume will be an invaluable resource on the state of contemporary African American women's activism.

This volume brings a fresh, original approach to understand social action in China and Vietnam through the conceptual lens of informal environmental and health networks. It shows how citizens in non-democratic states actively create informal pathways for advocacy and the development of functioning civil societies.

Through a selection of in-depth interviews, a survey of experts working with the European Union and United Nations, and Qualitative Comparative Analysis of policy debates, this text rethinks our understanding of gender expertise and the circumstances that lead to expert success in public policy.