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ALTERNATIVES IN AMERICAN POLITICS: A STUDY OF THE ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS FOR REFORM NOW (POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS, INTEREST GROUPS, ACORN)

DANIEL RUSSELL, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Abstract

The study of political organizations has been an important topic in American political science from early in its development. This is due to the importance of political organizations in the shaping of public policy, influencing other institutions in the political system, and shaping the political behavior of individuals. This research is a case study of those who are participating in the Boston chapter of a specific organization of low- and moderate-income people, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). This study researches questions that have been basic to political science studies of political organizations by using information obtained by the researcher's participant-observation in ACORN over a period of ten years and responses to interviews with twenty-four members and organizers of Boston ACORN. The first chapter discusses the development of the political science literature on political organizations, emphasizing those concepts that are important to low- and moderate-income organizing and developing the concept of an "organizing strategy." The second chapter discusses theories of low-income organizing. The third chapter examines the organizing strategy that ACORN uses in its organizing. The second part of the research discusses the responses of the organizers and members to the interviews. It identifies the issues that they consider important and compares responses of the organizers and members regarding their involvement in ACORN. Chapter four discusses the organizers' responses, chapter five, the members'. Chapter six ties together the literature and the interview responses, raising issues about the problems of understanding the complex behavior of individuals in such an organization.

Subject Area

Political science

Recommended Citation

RUSSELL, DANIEL, "ALTERNATIVES IN AMERICAN POLITICS: A STUDY OF THE ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS FOR REFORM NOW (POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS, INTEREST GROUPS, ACORN)" (1986). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI8701213.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI8701213

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