Description

As we enter the twenty-first century, scholars, activists and others concerned with social change increasingly realize that in order to transform society effective coalitions among different groups working for social justice need to be created and maintained. However, most of the research and writing about coalitions provide rather limited approaches to the study and understanding of radical alliances; i.e.: coalitions whose goals are to fundamentally change interpersonal relations and social structure in order to achieve equality and true social justice. This anthology challenges dominant approaches of explaining social movements and coalition building. Based on numerous case studies of alliances created between disparate peoples and among a variety of groups, the authors show that both resource mobilization theories and identity politics frameworks for the most part are inadequate for conceptualizing how alliances have been and can be created across boundaries of gender, race/ethnicity, class, nationality, ideology, sexual orientation, and age. The theoretical approach we propose suggests that coalitions are fluid sites of collective behavior where the blending of multiple identities with political activism interact with structural conditions to influence the development of commitments, strategies and specific actions. This analogy makes a contribution to a body of knowledge that aims to understand and explain how radical coalitions work in order to enable the development of visions and plans for change that advance and sustain political and social activity.

Table of Contents

Part 1 Preface
Part 2 Foreword
Part 3 1: Introduction
Part 4 I: Theoretical Perspectives
Chapter 5 2: Multiple Identity and Coalition Building: How Identity Differences Within Us Enable Radical Alliances Among Us
Chapter 6 3: The Dream of Common Differences: Coalitions, Progressive Politics and Black Feminist Thought
Chapter 7 4: From Mere Solidarity to Mirror Solidarity: Building Alliances on Perceptual Ground
Part 8 II: Barriers to Coalition Formation
Chapter 9 5: Collaborating Across Difference: From Theory and Rhetoric to the Hard Reality of Building Coalitions
Chapter 10 6: Building Alliances Between Immigrant Rights and Queer Movements
Chapter 11 7: "Isms" and AIDS: Transforming Multicultural Coalitions into Radical Alliances
Part 12 III: Local Community-Based Coalitions
Chapter 13 8: The Challenge and Rewards of Coalition Building: Pittsburgh's Alliance for Progressive Action
Chapter 14 9: Party Time? Building a Progressive Electoral Movement: A Case for the New Party
Chapter 15 10: Organizing for Democracy Through Faith-Based Institutions: The Industrial Areas Foundation in Action
Chapter 16 11: Let's Not Create Evilness for This River: Inter-Ethic Environmental Alliances of Native Americans and Rural Whites in Northern Wisconsin
Part 17 IV: Feminist Coalitions
Chapter 18 12: Anti-Rape Coalitions: Radical, Liberal, and Black Feminists Challenging Boundaries
Chapter 19 13: Negotiating Difference: Singaporean Women Building an Ethics of Respect
Chapter 20 14: Feminist Women and (Pro) Feminist Men: Moving from an Uneasy to Radical Alliance
Part 21 V: Student Coalitions
Chapter 22 15: Reasons to Resist: Coalition Building at Indiana University
Chapter 23 16: Building Community Amidst the Ruins: Strategies for Struggle from the Coalition for Justice at South Hampton College
Part 24 VI: International Coalitions
Chapter 25 17: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Alliances: The Perils of Success
Chapter 26 18: Coalitions Working for Social Justice: Transnational NGOs and International Governance
Part 27 Index

Product details

Published Nov 09 2001
Format Paperback
Edition 1st
Extent 288
ISBN 9780742510586
Imprint Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Dimensions 225 x 155 mm
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Related Titles

Environment: Staging