Author Archives: David S. Meyer

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About David S. Meyer

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

Prisoners protest by fasting

What are we to make of the hunger strikes spreading through California’s prison population?  Starting in Pelican Bay, a “supermax” prison for inmates convicted of the worst of crimes, it has reportedly spread to thirteen prisons; at least 6,600 prisoners … Continue reading

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The end of nuclear power in Germany

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government announced late last month that it would phase out nuclear power by the end of 2021.  The last few months had seen several shifts in policy, as well as a great deal of public outcry. … Continue reading

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Breaking up the Tea Party: Raising the debt ceiling.

The unfolding debt ceiling standoff is exacerbating divisions within the Tea Party movement that have been visible from the outset.  (Confession: I started writing about this end of the Tea Party on election day, 2010.) The United States has to … Continue reading

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Motorcycle helmets, protest, and irony

Philip Contos drove a 1983 Harley-Davidson with a group of bikers protesting mandatory helmet laws in New York.  Living the world they wanted to see, the protesters weren’t wearing helmets.  Contos died when he lost control of his bike and … Continue reading

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The Tea Party and the Bachmann challenge

Representative Michele Bachmann (Minnesota) embraced the Tea Party enthusiastically as it first arrived, seeing it as the expression of the conservative populist sentiments she means to embody.  After the Republican victories of 2010, she started the Tea Party Caucus in … Continue reading

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The Tea Party’s electoral dilemma

Our Constitution presents a recurring dilemma for social movements: routine elections.  Right after the Republicans won massive gains in the 2010 elections–and the Tea Party claimed a great deal of credit for those victories–conservative activists shifted their attention to the … Continue reading

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Coming out and burrowing in: Gay marriage in New York

When New York’s legislature approved same sex marriage last week, we saw the acceleration of a well-established trend: growing acceptance for recognizing the participation of gay and lesbian people in every aspect of American life.   It’s not that everything is … Continue reading

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A movement is a market

Every year when I do my taxes I go through my credit card receipts looking for deductions for work and charitable contributions.  In the past few years, I’ve found a disturbing number of payments for “Justice.”  The payments are disturbing … Continue reading

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Dieter Rucht and Social Movement Outcomes

I’m off to Berlin today.   I’m honored to participate in a conference on the outcomes of social movements, celebrating the work of Dieter Rucht.  Dieter is officially retiring, which will mean devoting a larger portion of his time to … Continue reading

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Money, mergers, and mobilization

Jarrett Barrios resigned as president of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance against Defamation this past weekend.  GLAAD had received $50,000 from AT&T, and then filed a letter supporting the phone giant’s merger with T-Mobile.  The appearance of impropriety (read: corruption) … Continue reading

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