8 - Devising Strategy

Summary

Grassroots environmental organizations have mounted many campaigns and engaged in a wide variety of strategies and tactics. Movements need strategies, which include choices about tactics, frames, alliances, and targets, to mobilize supporters and have an impact on public opinion and policies. One key question for movement scholars is how strategies and tactics affect outcomes (Andrews 2004; Banaszak 1996; Gamson 1990; Luders 2010; McCammon 2012). Another question, which is my concern in this chapter, is how strategies get created (Ganz 2000; Jasper 2006; Polletta 2002). While scholars commonly view movements as a series of collective actions or campaigns (Marwell and Oliver 1984; Tilly and Wood 2013), it may be harder for movements to devise strategies and sustain campaigns than is generally recognized (cf. McAdam and Boudet 2012). In addition to assessing the effectiveness of particular strategies, it is important to take a step back to see how strategies get devised; while new actions and campaigns allow movements to grow and succeed, strategic innovation is not always easy.