The Politics of Rights: Lawyers, Public Policy, and Political Change

DIVStuart A. Scheingold's landmark work introduced a new understanding of the contribution of rights to progressive social movements, and thirty years later it still stands as a pioneering and provocative work, bridging political science and sociolegal studies. In the preface to this new edition, the author provides a cogent analysis of the burgeoning scholarship that has been built on the foundations laid in his original volume. A new foreword from Malcolm Feeley of Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law traces the intellectual roots of IThe Politics of Rights/I to the classic texts of social theory and sociolegal studies.BRBR"Scheingold presents a clear, thoughtful discussion of the ways in which rights can both empower and constrain those seeking change in American society. While much of the writing on rights is abstract and obscure, IThe Politics of Rights/I stands out as an accessible and engaging discussion."br-Gerald N. Rosenberg, University of ChicagoBRBR"This book has already exerted an enormous influence on two generations of scholars. It has had an enormous influence on political scientists, sociologists, and anthropologists, as well as historians and legal scholars. With this new edition, this influence is likely to continue for still more generations. IThe Politics of Rights/I has, I believe, become an American classic."BR-Malcolm Feeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley, from the forewordBRPStuart A. Scheingold is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Washington./P/DIV