Intro
The impetus for this project came from a series of conversations with different activists (especially the late/great Prof. Imari Obadele and Prof. Amilcar Shabazz) who prompted me to rethink the dynamic interaction between governments and challengers. They suggested to me that repression was important for movements but not in the ways that I thought. They argued for a more complex investigation - one that dove deeply into the institutions, individuals and interactions that took place both within movements as well as between those who challenged governments and those who protected them.
For this project, with support from the National Science Foundation, I compiled data from arrest, surveillance, and informant reports as well as movement records concerning the Republic of New Africa - a black, nationalist, and secessionist movement based in Detroit, Michigan, from 1968-1973 (by the day and, generally, the hour). This case proves particularly interesting for it takes place within a context that most would deem "closed" (with increased repressive applications and the development of particular police agencies), with limited mobilizing structures (after the decline of civil rights organizations), and with a historically neglected cultural frame (U.S. nationalism). The data allows the exploration of everyday group dynamics as all the group meetings provide information about who was there, what was said, when the meeting started/ended, and occasionally how individuals responded to each other in non-verbal fashion. The activity that precedes and follows protest behavior is thus documented, allowing us to investigate what cultural framing activity, what aspects of mobilizing structures, and what political opportunities are relevant to different stages in the social movement process as well as what influence repression really has on the internal workings of dissident organizations. The records also provide detail information about state repression - specifically, who did what to whom.
Enjoy:
For this project, with support from the National Science Foundation, I compiled data from arrest, surveillance, and informant reports as well as movement records concerning the Republic of New Africa - a black, nationalist, and secessionist movement based in Detroit, Michigan, from 1968-1973 (by the day and, generally, the hour). This case proves particularly interesting for it takes place within a context that most would deem "closed" (with increased repressive applications and the development of particular police agencies), with limited mobilizing structures (after the decline of civil rights organizations), and with a historically neglected cultural frame (U.S. nationalism). The data allows the exploration of everyday group dynamics as all the group meetings provide information about who was there, what was said, when the meeting started/ended, and occasionally how individuals responded to each other in non-verbal fashion. The activity that precedes and follows protest behavior is thus documented, allowing us to investigate what cultural framing activity, what aspects of mobilizing structures, and what political opportunities are relevant to different stages in the social movement process as well as what influence repression really has on the internal workings of dissident organizations. The records also provide detail information about state repression - specifically, who did what to whom.
Enjoy:
Organizational Structure (According to US Government)
RNA Network (According to RNA & US Government)
RNA Declaration of Independence
The book from this Project
Click book above for access to webpage regarding book and its content
INtro: For those that know me, they know that I refer to this book by the title "To Kill a Movement." This is the title that I used for years as I was thinking about and then working on the project. The publisher did not like it though, so there you go.
Overview: Conventionally researchers, policymakers, activists and general observers have suggested that social movements are killed either from the "outside" (e.g., from repression) or the "inside" (e.g., from activist burnout or fractionalization). This book explores how these two factors interact, noting that governments and challengers co-evolve with the one responding (or not) to the actions taken by the other. From my argument, challengers that lag in their response, respond in an inappropriate manner or develop bad habits which weaken the organization die. Those who stay up on their responsivity, respond in an appropriate manner to the threats they are confronted with and develop good habits survive. Governments have a certain advantage in this dynamic process (an ace in the hole, so to speak): not all that are in social movements are actually working with/for social movements themselves. Inside information (informants) and subversion (agents provocateur) facilitates effective government repressive action and organizational deterioration. To investigate this topic I use a very disaggregated and detailed analysis of a black nationalist organization (The Republic of New Africa) as well as diverse political authorities that sought to disrupt and destroy the organization (the FBI, Michigan State Police and the Detroit Police Department). The time period of interest is 1968 (the founding of the organization) to 1973 (when the original cohort is no longer engaged).
Contents
Introduction
Part I – Theory
1. Killing Social Movements from the Outside or the Inside
2. Killing Social Movements from the Outside and the Inside
Part II – Case
3. Repression and Red Squads
4. Record Keeping and Data Collection
Part III – Origins
5. We Shall Overcome? From GOAL to the Freedom Now Party
6. We Shall Overthrow! From the Malcolm X Society to the Republic of New Africa
Part IV – Examination
7. Birth of a Black Nation
8. To Ocean Hill-Brownsville and B(l)ack
9. New Bethel and the End of the Beginning
10. When Separatists Separate
11. Mississippi: The Last Stand(off)
Part V – Conclusion
12. Understanding the Death of Social Movement Organizations
Review Excerpts & Full Reviews
Review in Perspectives on Politics (2017) - "How Social Movements Die ... represents a new scholarly foundation from which to build. Scholars of contentious politics can use the ideas presented here to develop operational definitions that can be applied to other SMOs and other countries. Others can dig into particular aspects of the complex framework to consider the strategic logic of the feedback loops. The particular focus on organizations and their internal dynamics, combined with the essential pairing of external and internal forces affecting social movements, is illuminating and frame shifting in studies of political violence, particularly in political science. This book should be considered essential reading for students of political violence in particular and political contention more broadly."
Review in Contemporary Sociology (2016) - "Christian Davenport’s How Social Movements Die offers an excellent analysis of movement demobilization"... "This study contributes to our understanding of collective action, not only by providing new insights and findings on movement demobi- lization, but also by opening up a novel area of research necessary to fully understand the dynamics of social movements."
Review in American Journal of Sociology (2016) - "There is a great deal to admire about this book—from its astonishingly rich data and thorough analysis to its clear theorizing about an important and nettlesome issue in the study of repression (What are the consequences of repression?) to its call for research on demobilization".... "a must read"
Review in Social Forces (2015) - "the book has many merits"... "Impressive"
Review in Mobilization (2014) - "theoretically-informative and conceptually-rich"... "The book comes highly recommended"
Overview: Conventionally researchers, policymakers, activists and general observers have suggested that social movements are killed either from the "outside" (e.g., from repression) or the "inside" (e.g., from activist burnout or fractionalization). This book explores how these two factors interact, noting that governments and challengers co-evolve with the one responding (or not) to the actions taken by the other. From my argument, challengers that lag in their response, respond in an inappropriate manner or develop bad habits which weaken the organization die. Those who stay up on their responsivity, respond in an appropriate manner to the threats they are confronted with and develop good habits survive. Governments have a certain advantage in this dynamic process (an ace in the hole, so to speak): not all that are in social movements are actually working with/for social movements themselves. Inside information (informants) and subversion (agents provocateur) facilitates effective government repressive action and organizational deterioration. To investigate this topic I use a very disaggregated and detailed analysis of a black nationalist organization (The Republic of New Africa) as well as diverse political authorities that sought to disrupt and destroy the organization (the FBI, Michigan State Police and the Detroit Police Department). The time period of interest is 1968 (the founding of the organization) to 1973 (when the original cohort is no longer engaged).
Contents
Introduction
Part I – Theory
1. Killing Social Movements from the Outside or the Inside
2. Killing Social Movements from the Outside and the Inside
Part II – Case
3. Repression and Red Squads
4. Record Keeping and Data Collection
Part III – Origins
5. We Shall Overcome? From GOAL to the Freedom Now Party
6. We Shall Overthrow! From the Malcolm X Society to the Republic of New Africa
Part IV – Examination
7. Birth of a Black Nation
8. To Ocean Hill-Brownsville and B(l)ack
9. New Bethel and the End of the Beginning
10. When Separatists Separate
11. Mississippi: The Last Stand(off)
Part V – Conclusion
12. Understanding the Death of Social Movement Organizations
Review Excerpts & Full Reviews
Review in Perspectives on Politics (2017) - "How Social Movements Die ... represents a new scholarly foundation from which to build. Scholars of contentious politics can use the ideas presented here to develop operational definitions that can be applied to other SMOs and other countries. Others can dig into particular aspects of the complex framework to consider the strategic logic of the feedback loops. The particular focus on organizations and their internal dynamics, combined with the essential pairing of external and internal forces affecting social movements, is illuminating and frame shifting in studies of political violence, particularly in political science. This book should be considered essential reading for students of political violence in particular and political contention more broadly."
Review in Contemporary Sociology (2016) - "Christian Davenport’s How Social Movements Die offers an excellent analysis of movement demobilization"... "This study contributes to our understanding of collective action, not only by providing new insights and findings on movement demobi- lization, but also by opening up a novel area of research necessary to fully understand the dynamics of social movements."
Review in American Journal of Sociology (2016) - "There is a great deal to admire about this book—from its astonishingly rich data and thorough analysis to its clear theorizing about an important and nettlesome issue in the study of repression (What are the consequences of repression?) to its call for research on demobilization".... "a must read"
Review in Social Forces (2015) - "the book has many merits"... "Impressive"
Review in Mobilization (2014) - "theoretically-informative and conceptually-rich"... "The book comes highly recommended"