Social Movements and Policy Implementation: The Civil Rights Movement and the War on Poverty

• In Event: 3160 - Collective Behavior

Abstract

What role do social movements play in the implementation of progressive U.S. policy? Using funding allocations by the Federal government during the War on Poverty as a case, we argue that pressures applied from social movements—not electoral successes—are pivotal to enforce progressive policies. Crucially, where most research has emphasized the importance of targeting government interests, we demonstrate the importance of disrupting the business opponents of progressive reform (here, Southern white business interests). Through a comprehensive analysis of funding decisions at the Johnson Administration’s Office of Economic Opportunity (1965-1968), we show that 1) the War on Poverty was most fully implemented in areas where the Civil Rights movement was most mobilized, and 2) disrupting not just government actors but business interests was an effective strategy in obtaining anti-poverty funding. This paper contributes to two broad theoretical debates: 1) the efficacy of electoral versus non-electoral strategies for policy successes for movements, and 2) the importance of targeting business versus government interests.

Authors

• Tarun Banerjee, University of Pittsburgh

• Michael Schwartz, Stony Brook State University

• Kevin Young, State University of New York at Stony Brook