When Protest Makes Policy: How Social Movements Represent Disadvantaged Groups

Reid, Sophie, Melbourne Journal of Politics

When Protest Makes Policy: How Social Movements Represent Disadvantaged Groups

S. Laurel Weldon, Ann Arbour, University of Michigan Press, 2011. 231pp.

ISBN 9780472117482

$113.99 (hardcover)

The introduction of When Protest Makes Policy opens with reference to the 1999 'Battle in Seattle' protest against the World Trade Organisation, and the claims made then by the protesters to represent the marginalised people of the world. More than ten years on, this book has been published in a year virtually book-ended by eruptions of high-profile civil society protest movements--most notably the uprisings across the Middle East and the 'Occupy' protest movement throughout the US and other countries--calling for the establishment or reinvigoration of democratic processes. This book is therefore timely in its meticulous examination of the role of social movements in enriching those processes.

Whereas the bulk of work on social movements focuses on their role in increasing participation, Weldon breaks new ground by instead considering their role in terms of representation. The …

Questia, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning. www.questia.com
Publication information: Article title: When Protest Makes Policy: How Social Movements Represent Disadvantaged Groups. Contributors: Reid, Sophie - Author. Journal title: Melbourne Journal of Politics. Volume: 35. Publication date: Annual 2012. Page number: 79+. © 1998 Department of Political Science, University of Melbourne. COPYRIGHT 2012 Gale Group.

This material is protected by copyright and, with the exception of fair use, may not be further copied, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means.