Author: The Apocalyptic Optimist
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On Response Rates and Revisions
The final data for American Resistance–the post-election follow-up with participants from the Resistance in the streets–closes at the end of this week. These data will complete the story of how people participated in the Resistance during the past two years–both in the Streets and in the Districts. The response rate for the survey is currently…
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Will the Resistance Join the Graveyard of Democratic Politics?
Now that the Blue Wave has washed over the House of Representatives (and continues to grow in some states), will the Resistance join the Graveyard of democratic politics? History suggests that progressive political movements lose their potency after Democratic electoral wins. Just look at the post-9/11 anti-war movement and the Obama campaign in 2008 for…
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The Countdown Continues
In final days before the Midterm elections, I am just finishing up analyzing interview data collected from conversations with leaders of Resistance Groups that are working to organize resistance in the districts around the election. I am currently revising the chapter based on these data (which is now Chapter 3 of the book on Organizing…
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Can Distributed Organizing Contribute to a #BlueWave?
With two weeks until the Midterm elections, we are barraged with polls telling us what likely voters might do on November 6th and what early voters have already done every day. As astounding images of early voting in states such as Florida, Nevada, and Texas, everyone is wondering what will happen. Having just completed follow-up interviews…
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19 Days and Counting…
While everyone focuses on different aspects of the upcoming midterms, I’m spending my time coding data from interviews I conducted last week with leaders of Resistance Groups. One of the clear themes in the interviews is the degree to which the Resistance in the Streets has shifted to the Districts leading up to the elections…
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Countdown to the MidTerms
Four weeks from TODAY are the midterm elections. In addition to determining what party will hold the majority in both houses of the US Congress, as well as local and state-level elections, the midterms are the end point for this study of the American Resistance. Before then, I have a final push of data collection…
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How Activism Around the Kavanaugh Confirmation Fits into the Resistance?
One of the hallmarks of the American Resistance is the degree to which institutional and non-institutional forms of activism and political engagement have merged. Although recent research chronicles some cases when social movements have connected with more institutional electoral politics, it is relatively uncommon. However, the merger of the tactics and targets employed by the Resistance…
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Revisiting “What is the Resistance?”
This month, the New York Times has run two separate Op-Eds about the Resistance: one anonymously claiming that people working within the Trump Administration are the Resistance and another questioning the utility of calling the movement against the Trump Agenda the Resistance. In response, I feel compelled to expand my previous post about what is the Resistance (as well…
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Who Persists in the Resistance?
With numerous large-scale marches having taken place since the Resistance began with the 2017 Women’s March, my research has found that people are turning out again-and-again to march for various issues across the progressive spectrum. One of the questions that I’ve recently focused on is what explains who has persisted? In a new paper, Lorien…
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Studying Protest in An Age of Resistance
With three months to go until the Midterm elections, this week is bringing lots of different types of Resistance, particularly focusing on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Even Hillary Clinton has gotten involved in resisting the confirmation, taking to social media with her message. On September 24th, I am hosting a…
Dana R Fisher 