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A fresh look at how interest groups mobilize their members and the effects that follow.

Most contemporary accounts of interest group politics emphasize how contemporary interest groups mirror and exacerbate partisan polarization, and understandably so: many of the largest and most visible coalitions do just this. But the term “interest groups” masks considerable variety. Despite what many seem to believe, the majority of interest groups are bipartisan, and, as Amy D. Meli shows, even when groups have a clear affinity with one party over the other, many still choose to pursue a bipartisan strategy.

In Mobilized, Meli develops a method for identifying the partisanship of interest groups and explores how different types of groups communicate with their members. She finds that groups adopting bipartisan policy strategies lobby and mobilize their members differently than those who choose partisan strategies. This, in turn, influences how their members perceive government and politics, leading people involved with these groups to have higher efficacy and lower levels of affective polarization. For decades, we have understood that higher levels of political involvement result in higher levels of polarization, but Meli shows that when involvement is mediated by bipartisan interest groups, affective polarization levels actually go down. Bipartisan groups advocate on issues they care about, and, most of the time, they do so with some support from both parties.

The Roma issue is generally treated as a European matter. Indeed, the Roma are the largest European minority—their presence outside of Europe is a result of various waves of migration over the past four hundred years. Likewise, the stereotypes associated with the Roma—the problematized, stigmatized status of a “Gypsy” as well as the historical and contemporary manifestations of antigypsyism—are also of European origin. This book claims, however, that the perception of Roma being strictly a European issue is flawed, and that re-connecting the Roma issue globally represents an important learning experience and an added value.

The book offers a critical exploration of Romani political activism in Colombia and Argentina, and compares it to that in Spain, narrated from the intimate perspective of Romani actors themselves. By outlining parallel lineages of Romani activism in three countries and on two continents, the author arrives at broad conclusions regarding the nature of ethnic mobilization. Mirga-Kruszelnicka proposes a new synergetic conceptualization of this multidirectional concept as an interplay between political opportunities, mobilizing structures, and frames of identity.

Contributing to the vivid debate about the relationship between the researcher and the researched, the book also includes an original discussion of the positionality of scholars of Romani background.

Gaza is the frontline in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians and rarely out of the news, this book explores the daily lives of the people in the region, giving us an insight into what is at risk in each round of violence.

Ramzy Baroud tells his father's fascinating story. Driven out of his village to a refugee camp, he took up arms and fought the occupation at the same time raising a family and trying to do the best for his children. Baroud's vivid and honest account reveals the complex human beings; revolutionaries, great moms and dads, lovers, and comedians that make Gaza so much more than just a disputed territory.