‘We tried doing it the protest way’: Community Organizing Adaptations as a Lens to Understand Semi-Closed Political Systems
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71057/ts480y89Keywords:
democracy, closed systems, activism, local hiring, local hiringAbstract
Much is known about community organizing strategies and outcomes (Checkoway 1995, Dewey and Zafar 2014), but as nonresponsive and oppressive governments rise internationally there is a need to better understand organizing as these contexts evolve (Kodrzycki and Muñoz 2013). This dynamic, where formal or informal power appears to be concentrated and reserved for power brokers, is what we refer to as “semi-closed political systems” (Eisinger 1973). Camden, New Jersey, with its historical challenges of governance and disempowerment, is an important case study for understanding how grassroots movements adapt organizing strategies within such contexts, and what those adaptations show us about semi-closed political systems. Through qualitative interviews and analysis, this paper presents a selection of adaptations of organizing strategies used by Camden organizers amidst a semi-closed political system. Camden's organizing efforts reveal how semi-closed systems both shape and constrain organizing practices; this case demonstrates both the adaptive capacity of organizers and highlights the structural limitations they faced.
References
Alinsky, Saul. 1971. Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
Ballotpedia. n.d., “Laws Governing Local Ballot Measures in New Jersey.” Accessed February 9, 2024. https://ballotpedia.org/Laws_governing_local_ballot_measures_in_New_Jersey.
Bernhardt, Annette, and Paul Osterman. 2017. “Organizing for Good Jobs: Recent Developments and New Challenges.” Work and Occupations 44 (1): 89–112. https://doi.org/10.1177/0730888415625096.
Borowski, Neill. 2023. “Camden’s Biggest Employers Put Few City Residents to Work.” TAPinto. March 8, 2023. https://www.tapinto.net/towns/camden/sections/business-and-finance/articles/camden-s-biggest-employers-put-few-city-residents-to-work.
Boyce, C., & Neale, P. (2006). Conducting in-depth interviews: A guide for designing and conducting in-depth interviews for evaluation input (Vol. 2). Watertown, MA: Pathfinder international.
Carstarphen, Victor. 2023. “OPINION: Fighting ‘poverty Porn’ - NJBIZ.” March 27, 2023. https://njbiz.com/opinion-fighting-poverty-porn/.
Catalini, Mike. 2019. “Norcross Defends Tax Breaks at Hearing Where Critic Removed.” AP News. November 19, 2019. https://apnews.com/general-news-31cec27792c04ba9a68ca97814c3bc63.
Checkoway, Barry. 1995. “Six Strategies of Community Change.” Community Development Journal 30 (1): 2–20. https://doi.org/10.1093/cdj/30.1.2
Cornwall, Andrea. 2004. “Introduction: New Democratic Spaces? The Politics and Dynamics of Institutionalised Participation.” IDS Bulletin 35 (2): 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1759-5436.2004.tb00115.x.
Creswell, John W., and Cheryl N. Poth. 2016. Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches. SAGE Publications.
Danley, Stephen. 2020. “Camden police reboot is being misused in the debate over polie reform.” Washington Post. June 16, 2020.
Danley, Stephen. 2018. “Pragmatic Urban Protest: How Oppression Leads to Parochial Resistance.” Sociological Research Online. Vol. 23, Issue 2: 518-527.
Danley, Stephen, Kathryn Jackson, and Anetha Perry. 2021. “Participation Shopping in Environmental Justice: Advocates Compete to Capture Legitimacy from the ‘Black Lives Matter’ Movement.” Environmental Justice, June. https://doi.org/10.1089/env.2021.0018.
Danley, Stephen & J. P. Rosewater. 2025. “ “No Permanent Allies, No Permanent Enemies”: Contrasting Team-based Activism and Eco-system Activism.” Administrative Theory and Praxis 47, Iss. 4: 281-288. https://doi.org/10.1080/10841806.2025.2547120
Danley, Stephen, and Julia Sass Rubin. 2020. “What Enables Communities to Resist Neoliberal Education Reforms? Lessons from Newark and Camden, New Jersey.” Journal of Urban Affairs 42 (4): 663–84. https://doi.org/10.1080/07352166.2019.1578174.
Dewey, Morgan and Rezwana Zafar. 2014. “Effectively Selecting Community Organizing Methods to Achieve Intended Outcomes for Emerging Grassroots Leaders.” The International Undergraduate Journal For Service-Learning, Leadership, and Social Change: Vol. 4: Issue 1: 31-45. Available at: https://opus.govst.edu./iujsl/vol4/iss1/6
Eisinger, Peter K. 1973. “The Conditions of Protest Behavior in American Cities.” American Political Science Review 67 (1): 11–28. https://doi.org/10.2307/1958525.
Epstein, K. K. (2021). Waiting for Wakanda: Activists challenge Black exclusion from the construction industry. Journal of Urban Affairs, 43(3): 380-396.
Feit, Neil. 2019. “Harming by Failing to Benefit.” Ethical Theory and Moral Practice: An International Forum. Vol. 22: 809-823. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10677-017-9838-6
Foa, Roberto Stefan and Yascha Mounk. 2022 “America After Trump: From “Clean” to “Dirty” Democracy?” The Trump Administration: The President’s Legacy Within and Beyond America 2022: 23-40, Doi: 10.4324/9781003259923
Gillette, Howard. 2006. Camden after the Fall: Decline and Renewal in a Post-Industrial City. Univ. of Pennsylvania Press.
Gillette Jr., Howard. 2022. “Toward Camden.” New Jersey Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal 8 (2): 206–209. https://doi.org/10.14713/njs.v8i2.296.
Hernandez, Joe. 2018. “Protesters Call Holtec CEO’s Comments on Camden Workers ‘Racist.’” WHYY (blog). Accessed February 9, 2024. https://whyy.org/segments/protesters-call-holtec-ceos-comments-on-camden-workers-racist/.
Kaldor, Mary, and Sabine Selchow. 2013. “The ‘Bubbling Up’ of Subterranean Politics in Europe.” Journal of Civil Society 9 (1): 78–99. https://doi.org/10.1080/17448689.2013.784501.
Kodrzycki, Yolanda K.and Ana Patricia Muñoz. 2013. “Economic Distress and Resurgence in U.S. Central Cities: Concepts, Causes, and Policy Levers.” Public Policy Discussion Papers. No. 13-3. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Boston, MA.
Ohmer, Mary L., and Fred Brooks. 2013. "The Practice of Community Organizing: Comparing and Contrasting Conflict and Consensus Approaches." In The Handbook of Community Practice, 2nd ed. edited by Weil, Marie, Michael Reisch, and Mary L. Ohmer, Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.: 233-248. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412976640.n10.
Orfield, Gary, Jongyeon Ee, and Ryan Coughlan. 2017. “New Jersey’s Segregated Schools.” UCLA The Civil Rights Project.
Piven, Frances Fox, and Richard Cloward. 2012. Poor People’s Movements: Why They Succeed, How They Fail. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
Rosen, Jovanna. 2023. Community Benefits: Developers, Negotiations, and Accountability. University of Pennsylvania Press.
Rubin, Julia Sass. 2023 The impact of New Jersey's county line primary ballots on election outcomes, politics, and policy. Seton Hall J. Legis. & Pub. Pol'y, 48, 48.
Rubin, Herbert J. and Irene S. Rubin. Qualitative Interviewing (2nd Ed.): The Art of Hearing Data. 2nd, Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2005. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452226651
Schutz, Aaron, and Marie G. Sandy. 2011. Collective Action for Social Change: An Introduction to Community Organizing. Palgrave Macmillan.
Shah, Anwar. 2007. Participatory Budgeting. World Bank Publication.
Staples, Lee. 2012. “Selecting and ‘Cutting’ the Issue.” In Community Organizing and Community Building for Health and Welfare. Rutgers University Press.
Steele, Allison. 2017. “Moran Coasts to Victory in Camden’s Mayoral Race.” Https://Www.Inquirer.Com. June 6, 2017. https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/new_jersey/moran-coasts-to-victory-in-camdens-mayoral-race-20170607.html.
Trethan, Phaedra. 2022. “Petition to Compel Camden Companies to Disclose Hiring Successful.” Courier post. Accessed February 9, 2026. https://www.courierpostonline.com/story/news/local/2022/08/05/petition-to-compel-camden-companies-to-disclose-hiring-successful/65391060007/
Wildstein, David. 2022. “Camden Group Asks Judge to Order Referendum on Ballot.” New Jersey Globe. July 22, 2022. https://newjerseyglobe.com/local/camden-group-asks-judge-to-order-referendum-on-ballot/.
Woolston, George. 2018. “Camden School Board Members to be Elected Once Again” TapInto Camden. Accessed February 9, 2026. https://www.tapinto.net/towns/camden/articles/camden-school-board-members-to-be-elected-once-again
Zachary, Eric, and Shola Olatoye. 2001. “A Case Study: Community Organizing for School Improvement in the South Bronx.” New York University Institute for Education and Social Policy. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED462493.