PI(s): Howard Kimeldorf David Dobbie Institution: University of Michigan
This study investigates the largely neglected process of coalition-building to advance understanding of social movement emergence, sustainability, and inter-organizational dynamics. While a growing body of theory has illuminated many processes leading to movement growth or decline, it has largely ignored a simple reality about social movements, that the individuals who comprise them are in most cases already members of existing organizations. Building a social movement is thus largely a process of coalescing sympathetic groups into a wider and more powerful coalition, yet surprisingly little is known about the underlying dynamics of coalitional activity upon which any successful movement rests. To the extent that coalitions have received scholarly attention, they have been seen as instrumental and short-lived, rather than as central to building a sustained and enduring broad-based social movement. We examine the relationship between coalitional activity and movement success by investigating the formation of labor and community alliances in three Midwestern industrial cities: Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, and Chicago. Through in-depth interviews, participant observation, and archival data, we seek to understand the inter-group processes that lead to sustainable coalitions between union and community-based constituencies. Broader Impacts: This research speaks directly to debates over organizational dynamics within the study of social movements, it also has broader implications for ongoing policy initiatives aimed at encouraging civic involvement and reviving popular democratic culture in the United States.
