Civil Liberty in America: the diffusion of municipal bill of rights resolutions after the passage of the USA PATRIOT act

Abstract

In the years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, some 400 local governments passed "Bill of Rights" resolutions in opposition to the USA PATRIOT Act. Event history analyses show that cities with progressive profiles were markedly quicker to pass such resolutions. These effects are strongest in the early phase of the Bill of Rights campaign, a period for which there is also robust evidence of contagious influence among nearby cities. The authors argue that the campaign's success lies in the miscibility of multiple movements-the ability of groups with different beliefs, agendas, and traditions to combine around a common goal. The case is used to distinguish between strong and weak forms of miscibility and to develop insight into strategic, organizational, and political conditions that promote the construction of movement-spanning coalitions. © 2009 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.