Maddy Blain
Research Paper Prospectus
March 8, 2015
This Is What Democracy Looks Like:
Tactical Innovation and Success in Egypt, Bolivia, and Wisconsin
Madison, WI, February 2011. In the days following Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s proposed Collective Bargaining Rights bill, the streets of Madison erupted in protests. People filled the square around the capitol, chanting to “Kill the bill! Kill the bill!” The media compared the “Wisconsin Uprising” to the mobilizations in Egypt that ultimately overthrew President Mubarak. For my research paper, I propose to compare an additional case alongside Wisconsin and Egypt. The demonstrations in Bolivia over natural resources have many parallels to both Wisconsin and Egypt. However, where both Bolivia and Egypt were successful movements, the “Wisconsin Uprising” has failed to recall Governor Walker and prevent the passage of union-busting legislation.
A key similarity across all three cases is the tactics employed, such as occupation and road blockades. Thus, my research questions address tactics: Was Wisconsin “inspired” by Egypt or Bolivia and Latin American protests? Why did Wisconsin’s attempts at tactical innovation fail, where Egypt and Bolivia succeeded? Was it a failure of tactics or more structural problems that prevented success in Wisconsin?
These questions lead to several potential dimensions of comparison. I plan to compare the organizational strategies of all three movements, tactics, and the relative success of each innovation. In order to most effectively analyze the success of tactics employed, I will also compare political opportunity structures. I will examine how political opportunities in each case inspired certain tactics and the response of the opposition to those tactics. The key to these comparisons will be to identify the traits that are similar in Egypt and Bolivia, and different in Wisconsin, in order to explain why the Wisconsin movement failed.
The theoretical framework for my paper will come from the work of several scholars. To begin, I will use Doug McAdam’s model of tactical innovation and tactical adaptation. McAdam’s argument about the importance of power relationships within tactical interaction will also help to analyze the successes and failures of tactics within my three cases. I will further use Tarrow’s concepts of repertoires of contention and political opportunity structures to analyze the ways in which tactics and movements come to be.
Because the “Wisconsin Uprising” is a relatively new (and continuing) movement, scholarly literature is not extensive. For my research, I hope to use several radio programs from Wisconsin Public Radio, aired in February and March 2011, during the time of the protests. The radio shows include interviews and analyses by professors of political science, law, and communications at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Marquette University, and the University of California Irvine, among others. I will also use recall election data in order to analyze the geography and politics of Scott Walker’s recall victory. For original research, I plan to interview participants in the Wisconsin protests, particularly Wisconsin public school teachers.
I plan to focus my paper on the protests in Madison in the spring of 2011, but since protests have continued at the State Capital since that time, I will draw on a wider time span. In addition, for the Egypt and Bolivia cases, I will use mainly class materials, using those cases to support and compare the Wisconsin case.
Annotated Bibliography:
Kroll, Andy. "How Egypt Inspired Wisconsin." Saloncom RSS. February 28, 2011. Accessed
March 7, 2015
This article argues that the Wisconsin protests drew inspiration from Egypt’s mobilizations against President Mubarak, which happened around the same time. The article provides information about the Egypt case, comparisons to Wisconsin, and information about solidarity efforts in Madison.
Farrington, Elizabeth Leigh. "The Wisconsin Protests: Up Close and Personal."Women in
Higher Education20, no. 4 (2011): 24-25.
McChesney, Robert W. "The Wisconsin Uprising."Monthly Review, 2012, 45-50.
Montopoli, Brian. "Scott Walker Wins Wisconsin Recall Election." CBSNews. June 6, 2012.
Accessed March 7, 2015.
Reese, Ellen.They Say Cut Back, We Say Fight Back!: Welfare Activism in an Era of
Retrenchment. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2011.
This book does not include information directly about the 2011 Wisconsin protests, but it outlines Wisconsin’s historical labor rights movement. I will use it as an example of the Wisconsin people’s repertoire and memory of contention.
Stein, Jason. "Supreme Court Upholds Walker's Act 10 Union Law." Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel. August 1, 2014.
This article includes information about the defeat of the Wisconsin Uprising movement when Walker upheld his Act 10 law (the budget bill that cut collective bargaining rights for unions).
Stein, Jason, and Patrick Marley. "There Was More to Scott Walker's Fight with Unions than
Speeches, Protests." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. March 2, 2013. Accessed March 7, 2015.
"Thousands Protest Wisconsin's Right-To-Work Bill At The State's Capitol." The Huffington
Post. February 28, 2015. Accessed March 7, 2015.
This article addresses the continuing protests at the Wisconsin State Capitol surrounding the Wisconsin Right-to-Work Bill. It will be useful in understanding the tactical innovations that have maintained the movement even after defeat.
“Wisconsin Recall Election Results Map." The Huffington Post. June 5, 2012. Accessed
March 7, 2015.
The Huffington Post provides a map of Wisconsin counties with election results and percentages organized by county. This data will provide geographical information about the Walker’s recall election victory.
Walker, Don, Lee Bergquist, and Bill Glauber. "Budget Battle - Biggest Protests Yet as Pro-
Walker Side, Larger Union Crowd Meet Peacefully." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. February 19, 2011. Accessed March 7, 2015.
This article provides information about the opposition/Pro-Walker mobilizations that protested alongside anti-Walker crowd.
Woodruff, Betsy. "Wisconsin Protesters Weren’t That Mad at Scott Walker on Thursday.
That’s Not Good for Scott Walker." The Slatest. March 5, 2015. Accessed March 7,
2015.
This article argues that the protests against Scott Walker have actually accomplished the opposite of their goals and translated into support for Walker. I plan to use this in constructing an argument of why the anti-Walker protests failed.
Yates, Michael.Wisconsin Uprising Labor Fights Back. New York, NY: Monthly Review Press,
2012.
This book is a collection of pieces by journalists and scholars who were “on the ground” during the protests. It offers background information and analysis of the movement, as well as comparisons with the Arab Spring.
"2012 Recall Election for Governor, Lt. Governor and State Senator." Government
Accountability Board. June 5, 2012. Accessed March 7, 2015.
The Government Accountability Board reports election statistics. The results included here include election results organized by statewide results, county results, and wade results.
Wisconsin Public Radio Archives: shows from 02/2011-03/2011
Wisconsin Public Radio aired a series of shows regarding the protests in Madison, with interviews with professors and experts on social movements. The shows aired during the time when protests were occurring in Madison, providing a look at the movement as it was unfolding. In addition, public radio has a direct connection to the effects of Walker’s bill, making the radio shows particularly relevant to analysis of the movement. Interspersed with the Wisconsin shows is information about the simultaneously unfolding Egypt protests, leading to comparisons of the two movements.
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