Susan Olzak - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Susan Olzak
This paper explores how national conditions and city characteristics affected the rate of ethnic ... more This paper explores how national conditions and city characteristics affected the rate of ethnic collective action in the US in 2 periods almost a century apart. The 1st period from 1877 through 1889 was a time of peak immigration. The 2nd period which covers the single year 1972 was characterized by Civil Rights protests and anti-busing activity as well as other forms of ethnic and racial confrontations. Analysis of the early period considers the effects of immigration and ethnic job segregation on the rate of ethnic collective action (ECA). Analysis of the later period examines the impact of economic hardship and population composition on the rate of ECA. At the national level during the 1877-1889 period immigration and economic downturns increased the rates of ethnic conflict and protest. Ethnic competition resulting from the combination of increases in the supply of (lower wage) immigrant labor and tightened job markets increased rates of ECA. A comparison of results for the sam...
European Sociological Review, 1998
Social Forces, Sep 1, 1983
Mobilization: An International Quarterly
Since Gamson's (1975) landmark study of social movement organizations, scholars have debated ... more Since Gamson's (1975) landmark study of social movement organizations, scholars have debated whether it is more advantageous to concentrate on a narrow or diverse set of issues. This paper recasts this debate in terms of organizational survival. Drawing on ideas from theories of category spanning and social movements, we argue that an organization that occupies a distinct niche conveys its purpose more effectively, which increases its chances of survival when compared to more diverse SMOs. Using a longitudinal dataset on environmental social movement organizations (ESMOs), we find organizations that span multiple and distant issue categories are significantly more likely to disband, compared to those with a more specialized focus. Other characteristics of ESMOs affect their survival rate in ways that are strikingly similar to for-profits and other types of nonprofits. Larger and more complex ESMOs benefit from economies of scale, while younger, less established organizations are...
Mobilization: An International Quarterly
During 1970–1985, South Africa vacillated between reform and reaffirmation of the repressive regi... more During 1970–1985, South Africa vacillated between reform and reaffirmation of the repressive regime known as apartheid. Did these reforms slow the pace of protest, or did they facilitate protest, by intensifying discontent? Using event-history data on anti-apartheid protest we suggest that passage of reforms will increase the pace of protest while state repression will dampen it. We further hypothesize that the nature and scope of each reform would differentially affect protest by each of three official racial populations: Black Africans, Coloureds, and Asian Indians. As expected, reforms that integrated housing and jobs and reforms that legitimated the rights of black labor unions propelled protest by Black Africans against apartheid, but so did reforms that excluded Black Africans from citizenship. In contrast, relatively few reforms affected the rate of protest by Asian Indians and Coloured population groups. Finally, we found that repression decreased rates of protest significan...
Snow/Social, 2004
... Furthermore, this theory suggests that as the dynamics of split labor markets change over tim... more ... Furthermore, this theory suggests that as the dynamics of split labor markets change over time, as ... evidence on this notion has been suggested by analyses of racial conflict in contem ... Another recent perspective uses world-systems theory to consider how global pro-cesses of ...
Ethnic, racial, and nationalist social movements organize around distinct ethnic identities, but ... more Ethnic, racial, and nationalist social movements organize around distinct ethnic identities, but they differ with respect to the scope of their claims, activities, and goals. Ethnic nationalist movements can be distinguished empirically from ethnic/racial movements by the presence of demands claiming legitimate rights to sovereignty and/or authority to administer a specific territory. As a result, nationalist movements are likely to come into conflict with existing state authorities and the international system. Theories explaining the rise, persistence, and decline of these movements vary with respect their emphasis on cognitive, rational, or instrumentalist motivations for such movements, and to the degree these movements come in conflict with state authorities.
Ethnic and Racial Studies, 1982
Ethnic and Racial Studies, 1998
Journal of American Ethnic History, 1999
Mobilization: An International Quarterly
This article considers the role of social movement allies in Congress in advancing proenvironment... more This article considers the role of social movement allies in Congress in advancing proenvironmental legislation. We argue that compared to sponsors of legislation who hold moderate views, sponsors with extreme ideological positions will be less likely to produce legislation desired by the environmental movement. We also argue that protest and organizational advocacy by constituents will increase the rate at which sponsors enact environmental legislation. Using event history techniques that follow over 12,000 environmental bills from 1973–1996, we find support for the argument that environmental bills are more successful when sponsored by legislators who have environmental voting records closer to the median voter in Congress, compared to bills sponsored by representatives holding more extreme positions. We also find that the number of environmental lobbyist organizations has a positive effect on the speed of enactment of environmental legislation, but that protest by constituents do...
This paper explores how national conditions and city characteristics affected the rate of ethnic ... more This paper explores how national conditions and city characteristics affected the rate of ethnic collective action in the US in 2 periods almost a century apart. The 1st period from 1877 through 1889 was a time of peak immigration. The 2nd period which covers the single year 1972 was characterized by Civil Rights protests and anti-busing activity as well as other forms of ethnic and racial confrontations. Analysis of the early period considers the effects of immigration and ethnic job segregation on the rate of ethnic collective action (ECA). Analysis of the later period examines the impact of economic hardship and population composition on the rate of ECA. At the national level during the 1877-1889 period immigration and economic downturns increased the rates of ethnic conflict and protest. Ethnic competition resulting from the combination of increases in the supply of (lower wage) immigrant labor and tightened job markets increased rates of ECA. A comparison of results for the sam...
European Sociological Review, 1998
Social Forces, Sep 1, 1983
Mobilization: An International Quarterly
Since Gamson's (1975) landmark study of social movement organizations, scholars have debated ... more Since Gamson's (1975) landmark study of social movement organizations, scholars have debated whether it is more advantageous to concentrate on a narrow or diverse set of issues. This paper recasts this debate in terms of organizational survival. Drawing on ideas from theories of category spanning and social movements, we argue that an organization that occupies a distinct niche conveys its purpose more effectively, which increases its chances of survival when compared to more diverse SMOs. Using a longitudinal dataset on environmental social movement organizations (ESMOs), we find organizations that span multiple and distant issue categories are significantly more likely to disband, compared to those with a more specialized focus. Other characteristics of ESMOs affect their survival rate in ways that are strikingly similar to for-profits and other types of nonprofits. Larger and more complex ESMOs benefit from economies of scale, while younger, less established organizations are...
Mobilization: An International Quarterly
During 1970–1985, South Africa vacillated between reform and reaffirmation of the repressive regi... more During 1970–1985, South Africa vacillated between reform and reaffirmation of the repressive regime known as apartheid. Did these reforms slow the pace of protest, or did they facilitate protest, by intensifying discontent? Using event-history data on anti-apartheid protest we suggest that passage of reforms will increase the pace of protest while state repression will dampen it. We further hypothesize that the nature and scope of each reform would differentially affect protest by each of three official racial populations: Black Africans, Coloureds, and Asian Indians. As expected, reforms that integrated housing and jobs and reforms that legitimated the rights of black labor unions propelled protest by Black Africans against apartheid, but so did reforms that excluded Black Africans from citizenship. In contrast, relatively few reforms affected the rate of protest by Asian Indians and Coloured population groups. Finally, we found that repression decreased rates of protest significan...
Snow/Social, 2004
... Furthermore, this theory suggests that as the dynamics of split labor markets change over tim... more ... Furthermore, this theory suggests that as the dynamics of split labor markets change over time, as ... evidence on this notion has been suggested by analyses of racial conflict in contem ... Another recent perspective uses world-systems theory to consider how global pro-cesses of ...
Ethnic, racial, and nationalist social movements organize around distinct ethnic identities, but ... more Ethnic, racial, and nationalist social movements organize around distinct ethnic identities, but they differ with respect to the scope of their claims, activities, and goals. Ethnic nationalist movements can be distinguished empirically from ethnic/racial movements by the presence of demands claiming legitimate rights to sovereignty and/or authority to administer a specific territory. As a result, nationalist movements are likely to come into conflict with existing state authorities and the international system. Theories explaining the rise, persistence, and decline of these movements vary with respect their emphasis on cognitive, rational, or instrumentalist motivations for such movements, and to the degree these movements come in conflict with state authorities.
Ethnic and Racial Studies, 1982
Ethnic and Racial Studies, 1998
Journal of American Ethnic History, 1999
Mobilization: An International Quarterly
This article considers the role of social movement allies in Congress in advancing proenvironment... more This article considers the role of social movement allies in Congress in advancing proenvironmental legislation. We argue that compared to sponsors of legislation who hold moderate views, sponsors with extreme ideological positions will be less likely to produce legislation desired by the environmental movement. We also argue that protest and organizational advocacy by constituents will increase the rate at which sponsors enact environmental legislation. Using event history techniques that follow over 12,000 environmental bills from 1973–1996, we find support for the argument that environmental bills are more successful when sponsored by legislators who have environmental voting records closer to the median voter in Congress, compared to bills sponsored by representatives holding more extreme positions. We also find that the number of environmental lobbyist organizations has a positive effect on the speed of enactment of environmental legislation, but that protest by constituents do...