Activism, Majority Rule, and Local Democracy

""Progressive urban politics in the United States has come of age, making Activism, Majority Rule, and Local Democracy the book we need. Amidst a sea of scholars focused on finding reproducible rules for organizing success, Brian Adams keeps his sights on the core political questions that matter: How democratic is activism? And what does it hail for the consensus goals of majority rule and citizen engagement? The answer is that activism and majority rule sit in conflict. It's not the conclusion we want, but it's the insight we need to figure out what comes next."" - Marc Doussard, Professor and Head in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and coauthor of Justice at Work: The Rise of Economic and Racial Justice Coalitions in Cities ""Adams's work offers new conceptualizations and theorization of local democracy. The synthesis of both local and urban-focused participation scholarship and activism-focused scholarship is admirable, and his qualitative approach and use of interviews provide rich, textured data that are not only analytically useful but accessible to a broad audience. Activism, Majority Rule, and Local Democracy should be picked up by community activists, organizers, and local government officials, as well as by academics. By bringing these literatures into conversation and building on each through empirical and conceptual work, Adams has made an important and valuable contribution."" - Ashley E. Nickels, Associate Professor in the School of Peace & Conflict Studies at Kent State University, and author of Power, Participation, and Protest in Flint, Michigan: Unpacking the Policy Paradox of Municipal Takeovers