Power to the Partners: Organizational Coalitions in Social Justice Advocacy
University of Chicago Press, 2025
Why do some coalitions triumph while others fall short? In Power to the Partners, Maraam A. Dwidar documents the vital role of social and economic justice organizations in American politics and explores the process by which they strategically build partnerships to advance more effective and equitable advocacy. Using novel data tracking the collaboration patterns of more than 20,000 nationally-active advocacy organizations, Dwidar evaluates the micro- and macro-level conditions surrounding these groups' successful efforts to collectively shape public policy. Do coalitions succeed when they have deep pockets? When they have an opportunity, like the chance to capitalize on a moment or movement? Or maybe the ability to recruit just the right kinds of partners, with specialized skills and friends in high places?
In this path-breaking book, Dwidar reveals that while organizational advocates for social and economic justice are at a disadvantage in the American lobbying landscape—financially, tactically, and politically—coalition work can help ameliorate these disparities. By building and sustaining coalitions with structures and memberships that facilitate clarity, learning, and diverse perspectives, these advocates can successfully—and uniquely—make their mark on American public policy. Power to the Partners will be released by the University of Chicago Press in April 2025. |