1. Introduction
Causal Mechanisms and Social Science Theory
The Political Outcomes of Social Movements
A Literature That Grows but Does Not Accumulate
The Structure of the Book

A Partial Theory of Social Movements and Political Change - Part I

2. Collective Goods, Public Policies, Political Institutions, and Political Change
Can We Assess the Political Outcomes of Social Movements in Terms of Success?
A Typology of Substantive Political Outcomes
A Typology of Institutional Political Outcomes

3. Social Movement Strength, Tactics, and the Viability of Political Goals
Social Movement Strength
Strategy and Social Movement Outcomes
4. Opportunities and Constraints in the Environment of Social Movements
The Political Context of Social Movements
The Cultural and Economic Context of Social Movements

5. Causal Mechanisms of Political Change
The Disruption Mechanism
The Public Preference Mechanism
The Political Access Mechanism
The Judicial Mechanism
The International Politics Mechanism

The Civil Rights Movement - Part II

6. The Judicial Mechanism
Constraint I: The Limited Nature of Rights
Constraint II: The Lack of Judicial Independence
Constraint III: The Judiciary's Lack of Powers of Implementation

7. The Disruption Mechanism
Creating Crisis in the South: From Montgomery to Selma
Creating Crisis in the North: The Ghetto Riots
The Political Context of Disruption

8. The Public Preference Mechanism
Mobilizing Public Opinion
Explaining Public Opinion on Civil Rights Policies
The Impact of Racial Attitudes on Civil Rights Policies

9. The Political Access Mechanism
Mobilizing for Electoral Empowerment
The Electoral Empowerment of African Americans
The Political Impact of African American Electoral Empowerment

10. The International Politics Mechanism
The Role of International Politics in the Struggle of the Civil Rights Movement
The Effects of the Cold War on Civil Rights
Explaining the Leverage of International Politics over the Executive Branch

The Anti-Nuclear Energy Movement - Part III

11. The Context and Potential Political Impact of Anti-Nuclear Protest
Operationalizing the Political Impact of the Anti-Nuclear Energy Movement
Explanatory Hypotheses and the Measurement of Independent Variables

12. Explaining the Political Impact of Anti-Nuclear Energy Movements
Anti-Nuclear Mobilization before the Chernobyl Accident
The Political Consequences of the Chernobyl Accident on Nuclear Power

13. The Political Impact of Court Action, Mass Disruption, and Public Opinion
The Judicial Mechanism
The Disruption Mechanism
The Public Preference Mechanism

14. Summary and Conclusions
Social Movements and Political Change
Insights from Studying the Civil Rights and the Anti-Nuclear Energy Movements