Title: Is the US Supreme Court a Driver of Social Change or Driven by it? A Literature Review
Abstract: Whether the Supreme Court of the United States drives or is driven by social change is an important strategic question for social movements that seek to implement systemic change in the United States. However, a thorough summary of empirical research on this question is lacking. This report summarizes the results of the most important empirical contributions to this debate. The results of aggregating 121 research items based on the strength of evidence suggest that Supreme Court decision-making is influenced by public opinion and by the activities of interest groups. Supreme Court rulings that are favorable to social movements’ goals can encourage positive changes in public attitudes, behavior, and policy, though these effects are sometimes negligible and the evidence is slightly weaker than that for the influence of public opinion on Supreme Court decisions. Additionally, Supreme Court rulings may encourage substantial backlash, so it may be counterproductive for social movements to actively pursue radical legal change if they are not prepared to respond to these threats.
Publication Year: 2019
Publication Date: 2019-11-27
Language: en
Type: review
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Cited By Count: 1
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