Author Archives: David S. Meyer

Unknown's avatar

About David S. Meyer

Author and professor of Sociology and Political Science at the University of California, Irvine

Remembering the present: Guantanamo protests and a decade of detention

President Obama didn’t keep his campaign promise to close the American prison for suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay.  Yesterday marked Gitmo’s 10th anniversary.  The camp on Cuba, conveniently perhaps outside the jurisdiction of normal legal procedures in the United States, … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

New Hampshire, the Tea Party, and movement capture

As New Hampshire voters and others try to sift through the mess of small differences among the Republican hopefuls (and as everyone in the rest of the country overinterprets the results) it’s good to take a step back to think … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Tea Party’s Iowa

Protest movements sometimes have perverse effects, hastening outcomes they don’t want.  Tuesday’s Republican Iowa caucus has to be scored as a disappointment for the Tea Party, perhaps a sign of its dissolution. The Tea Party, an alliance between populist and … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Occupy the Constitution

At least several hundred protesters marched after the Tournament of Roses Parade, drawing some cheers, some boos, and extensive media coverage.  (Occupy the Rose Parade and the Hollywood Alist estimated 5,000 Occupy marchers.) Parades are occasions for spectacle and theater, … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Occupy at the Rose Bowl

A march looks a lot like a parade with demands. Occupy the Rose Parade will present a presence–with floats–at the 123rd Tournament of Roses Parade on Monday morning in Pasadena. The parade, patriotic and explicitly non-political, allows cause groups to … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Who pays for free speech?

One night some years ago, while rushing out to the store to get milk for my kid (my excuse), I rolled slowly through a stop sign.  A police officer stopped and cited me, apologizing as he did so.  To prevent … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Is protest contagious?

As the year comes to an end, unexpected and potentially powerful protest movements are appearing in unexpected places, including China, Russia, and Syria, threatening to topple regimes and change the world. Protest movements seem to appear in a spate.  Arab … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Occupy the Iowa Caucus

Occupy activists are flocking to Des Moines for the new year, in an effort to Occupy Iowa’s Republican caucuses?  Why?  Certainly the Occupy approach has little appeal for the Republican caucus-goers, who veer more toward religious conservatism. But Occupiers know … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Travel to Israel

I I’m very pleased to be participating in the Seventh Annual Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Conference at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.  I hope to learn more about about lots of things, including the tent protests in Israel earlier this year. I’ve … Continue reading

Posted in academic | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Can the Tea Party reelect Barack Obama?

If Barack Obama is somehow able to win reelection, the Tea Party should be on his list for a thank you note. President Obama’s prospects for reelection are decidedly mixed, but better than we’d expect given all else in the … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment