
Why Movements Succeed or Fail
Opportunity, Culture, and the Struggle for Woman Suffrage
Lee Ann Banaszak(Author)
Princeton University Press
Published on 25. August 1996
Book
Hardback
296 pages
978-0-691-02640-4 (ISBN)
Description
Wyoming became the first American state to adopt female suffrage in 1869--a time when no country permitted women to vote. When the last Swiss canton enfranchised women in 1990, few countries barred women from the polls. Why did pro-suffrage activists in the United States and Switzerland have such varying success? Comparing suffrage campaigns in forty-eight American states and twenty-five Swiss cantons, Lee Ann Banaszak argues that movement tactics, beliefs, and values are critical in understanding why political movements succeed or fail. The Swiss suffrage movement's beliefs in consensus politics and local autonomy and their reliance on government parties for information limited their tactical choices--often in surprising ways. In comparison, the American suffrage movement, with its alliances to the abolition, temperance, and progressive movements, overcame beliefs in local autonomy and engaged in a wider array of confrontational tactics in the struggle for the vote.
Drawing on interviews with sixty Swiss suffrage activists, detailed legislative histories, census materials, and original archival materials from both countries, Banaszak blends qualitative historical inquiry with informative statistical analyses of state and cantonal level data. The book expands our understanding of the role of political opportunities and how they interact with the beliefs and values of movements and the societies they seek to change.
Drawing on interviews with sixty Swiss suffrage activists, detailed legislative histories, census materials, and original archival materials from both countries, Banaszak blends qualitative historical inquiry with informative statistical analyses of state and cantonal level data. The book expands our understanding of the role of political opportunities and how they interact with the beliefs and values of movements and the societies they seek to change.
Reviews / Votes
"In this comparative analysis, Lee Ann Banaszak explores why woman suffrage came to Switzerland so much later than the United States. . . . [She] provides a wealth of information organized by a keen analytical mind and informed by strong theoretical preferences." * American Historical Review *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New Jersey
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Product notice
Trade binding
Illustrations
6 line drawings 18 tables
Dimensions
Height: 254 mm
Width: 197 mm
Weight
652 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-691-02640-4 (9780691026404)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Lee Ann Banaszak
Why Movements Succeed or Fail
Opportunity, Culture, and the Struggle for Woman Suffrage
E-Book
08/1996
1st Edition
Princeton University Press
€154.95
Available for download
Person
Lee Ann Banaszak is Associate Professor of Political Science at the Pennsylvania State University.