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Conflict Research Consortium |
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Conflict Research Consortium |
In times of trouble and international conflict, activists convene to organize political activities, but how does action for peace survive during less threatening times?
Why and how do people continue their peace action for long periods, with limited rewards and at considerable personal cost and risk?
The Persistent Activist (Westview, 1997), by James Downton and Paul Wehr, explores these questions through incorporating vivid interviews with 30 Colorado persistent activists working in the 1990's. Social Science has paid scant attention to the persistent "caretakers" of movements for social change. Participants in this study reveal the paths they followed to the movement, their sources of support in their work, how they avoid burnout, even the ways they have grown through activism. Creativity and imagination emerge as important dimensions of activist survival. From extended interviews, the authors build a theory of sustained commitment which integrates participant experience with contemporary social movement theory. Through this research the authors provide an important contribution to our understanding of collective action and social movements in today's world. An epilogue suggests the utility of the study's findings for more effective peace and social justice activism. The Persistent Activist is written both for students in social science, peace and religious studies and philosophy courses and for peace and social change activists.
200 pages
Febuary 1997
$50.00 hardback 0-8133-8139-8
$17.00 paperback 0-8133-2999-X
To order please contact:
Westview Press
Phone: 1-800-386-5656 or (303) 444-3541
5500 Central Avenue
Boulder, CO 80301-2877
Fax: (303) 449-3356
Web: www.hcaccdemic.com
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For More Information: Contact: Guy Burgess or Heidi Burgess, Co-Directors, Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado, Campus Box 327, Boulder, Colorado, 80309-0327, E-mail: burgess@colorado.edu Phone: (303) 492-1635; Fax: (303)492-2154.
Copyright 1997 © by Conflict Research Consortium
