Exploring Political Behavior. Coalitions and Political Movements : The Lessons of the Nuclear Freeze

How advanced is our knowledge about the dynamics of political and social activism? What lessons can be learned by studying the rise and fall of particular political and social movements? What insights can be gained by applying the different frameworks and methodologies of political science, sociology, and communications? This original work employs multidisciplinary perspectives to better understand the nuclear freeze, a movement that at one time produced a vast national network of activism and the largest political demonstration in the history of the United States. Incorporating a new, coalitional theory of political and social movements, the authors explore the successes and failures of the freeze campaign in its attempts to influence legislation, treaties, and public opinion about nuclear weapons. They examine freeze activism in the context of the larger peace movement, its continuing relevance for current and future peace mobilizations, and its implications for the general study of political and social change. CONTENTS List of Tables and Figures 1 Introduction: The Nuclear Freeze in Theory and Action Part 1 Development of the Freeze Coalition 2 Yodeling in the Echo Chamber: Public Opinion and the Nuclear Freeze 3 Dilemmas of Organization in Peace Campaigns 4 Competition and Cooperation in Movement Coalitions: Lobbying for Peace in the 1980s 5 Transnational Activism in the Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign Part 2 The Social and Political Impact of the Freeze 6 Freeze Frame: News Coverage of the Freeze Movement 7 The Nuclear Freeze Movement's Effect on Policy 8 Three Faces of the Freeze: Arenas of Success and Failure Part 3 Demobilization and Movement Transition 9 Persevering for Peace: Organizational Survival and Transformation of the U.S. Peace Movement, 1988-1992 10 Peace Movement Adaptation at the State Level: The Case of Maine 11 The Development and Maintenance of Activism in Anti-Nuclear Weapons Movements Part 4 Conclusion 12 Toward a Coalitional Theory of Social and Political Movements References List of Contributors Index About the Book