Election-centered grassroots mobilization structurally demobilizes activists after winning

Evidence

Some issue, concrete and right in front of us, should be our focus. A collateral effect, although not the main objective, would be the election of men and women at the state and local levels who aren’t about symbolism and celebrity, but who put forward a strategic vision for our communities. (When elections become the primary aim of grassroots mobilization, the conditions for demobilization are built into the very activity. If you succeed, you are often left twiddling your thumbs.) — Eddie S. Glaude Jr., Democracy in Black, 617

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to organizing debates about electoral vs. issue-based movement strategy, e.g., the 1960s backlash literature and community-organizing theory in the reader’s knowledge base. — connects to: Activists with no portable skills become the most determined brakes on party reform — Anna M. Grzymala-Busse, Redeeming The Communist Past: The…, 464; Electoral success made party activists complacent about further transformation — Anna M. Grzymala-Busse, Redeeming The Communist Past: The…, 512; New Right strategists openly sought lower voter turnout to increase their leverage — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers: Inside the…, 238 (+4 more)