Tag Archives: Madison

Occupy at 10 (1/x)

Posted on September 16, 2021 by David S. Meyer

It’s 10 years ago September 17 that Occupy Wall Street commenced, and the decennial is a good time to see how (or whether) it mattered. Kai Ryssdal interviewed me at Marketplace about just this issue, and politely asked me the … Continue reading →

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Protest is contagious; where we are….

Posted on April 25, 2020 by David S. Meyer

The first picture is of a open up protest at the Wisconsin state capitol in Madison, on August 24, featuring a turnout estimated at a couple of thousand people, certainly one of the largest turnouts at these protests so far. … Continue reading →

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A global explosion of people power?

Posted on January 2, 2020 by David S. Meyer

Last year, 2019, the editors of The Big Q, a very cool blog sponsored by the University of Auckland, asked me to write about the seeming explosion of protest movements globally. This is what I thought, reposted below (non-American spelling … Continue reading →

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When you lose at the polls…..

Posted on November 8, 2016 by David S. Meyer

Donald Trump has called his campaign for the presidency the greatest movement in American history. Maybe not. But what happens to that movement if Trump doesn’t win the presidency? How the losers behave tells you a great deal about the system … Continue reading →

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After Wisconsin and the electoral trap

Posted on June 7, 2012 by David S. Meyer

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s victory in Tuesday’s recall election isn’t a happy outcome for the activists who have spent nearly a year and a half going after him.  It’s particularly troubling for labor organizers, who will face subsequent challenges with … Continue reading →

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Protest, tolerance, and stability

Posted on August 16, 2011 by David S. Meyer

Liberal democracies adopt some degree of tolerance for organized protest.  Demonstrations of hundreds of thousands on the Washington Mall are permitted, protected, and scheduled.  They take place routinely with no threat to the stability of the Republic.  This was, as … Continue reading →

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When anger isn’t enough

Posted on August 14, 2011 by David S. Meyer

(A little long for the blog, this is cross-posted from the Washington Post.) There’s something exciting, sometimes terrifying, about people taking to the streets to get what they want. In Cairo’s Tahrir Square, they gathered to demand the ouster of … Continue reading →

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Reexamining Organization/s

Posted on April 25, 2011 by David S. Meyer

From the comments, olderwoman writes: Your theoretical point is spot on, but your empirical point about Wisconsin is wrong, and wrong in a way that reflects back to a refinement of theory. Empirically, protests in Wisconsin were organized by a … Continue reading →

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It’s not just protest (Madison)

Posted on March 8, 2011 by David S. Meyer

Although those dramatic demonstrations, like the ones we saw in Madison, capture the imagination, by themselves, they won’t change a policy or a government.  Protest signals, supports, and coerces.  Changes in politics and policy depend upon how a broad range … Continue reading →

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