David S. Meyer
I'm a professor of sociology and political science at the University of California, Irvine. I've been thinking, and writing about, protest politics for almost ever. This site offers comments on contemporary events, informed (I hope) by knowing something about history and about the academic study of social movements.
Monthly Archives: February 2011
Beyond Madison: Who’s Watching? Who’s Talking? Who’s Doing?
Watch the crowd in a fight. That’s an old insight in the social sciences, stated pretty clearly by E. E. Schattschneider in The Semi-Sovereign People fifty years ago. The point: The losers in any political struggle have an interest in … Continue reading
On Wisconsin and beyond
The protests in Madison are just the start of a larger struggle about budgets and labor across the United States. I’m on the Joy Cardin show on Wisconsin Public Radio, talking about the protests in Madison. (I got to tell … Continue reading
On and on Wisconsin
The stand-off in Madison continues: Activists organized by, or supporting, the state’s major labor unions continue to march in and around the State House. Importantly, the firefighters, police officers, and other public safety employees, exempted from this harsh budget bill, … Continue reading
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On Wisconsin: Class War and Coalitions
Calling the mash-up in Madison, where the Tea Party meets organized labor, “class war,” was Mike Huckabee’s idea. Huckabee deplored President Obama’s choice to weigh in, rather modestly, on the conflict in Wisconsin. (Class war, apparently, is a large problem … Continue reading
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Tagged coalitions, countermovements, Koch Brothers, labor, protest, Wisconsin
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Americans Protest against Austerity Budgets
Activists in Wisconsin have commenced staging dramatic protests against newly elected governor, Scott Walker’s plans for harsh cuts in public spending. We’re going to watch to see if such protests spread across the American states the way revolutionary movements have … Continue reading
Irvine 11 news goes national
The Orange County DA’s decision to pursue criminal charges against the Irvine 11 continues to pay off for their cause. The controversy around the criminal charges has percolated all the way from Irvine (my home), a suburban community of about … Continue reading
McTerror: Finnish activists behead a plastic icon.
The Food Liberation Army, a new activist group in Finland, took a statue of Ronald McDonald hostage, demanding that the McDonald’s corporation answer a series of questions about how they produce and serve their food. The online demand, a kind … Continue reading
Egyptian revolution: Who won what?
It looks like President Hosni Mubarak has acquiesced to domestic and international pressure in leaving office after thirty years. Even so, there were a number of stutter steps over the past few days. The colorful, dramatic, and diverse demonstrations in … Continue reading
DA’s indictment gives Irvine 11 another chance
What was Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas thinking? Pressing criminal charges against the students who disrupted an invited talk by Israel ambassador Michael Oren gives them a political opportunity that they were completely unable to create for themselves. Recall … Continue reading
Charging the Irvine 11
It’s astonishing to learn that the Orange County District Attorney’s office opted to charge 11 young people with “conspiring to disrupt a meeting” (LA Times Report here). In filing the charges, the DA is resurrecting a failed event and giving … Continue reading
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