“In their timely and deeply illuminating book, Milkis and Tichenor examine the ‘uneasy partnerships’ between presidents and social movements, which have transformed the nation during key junctures in American history. Rivalry and Reform makes a critical intervention in the debate about ‘top down’ versus ‘bottom up’ social change. This important book is essential reading for these turbulent times.”

Cybelle Fox, University of California, Berkeley

“Presidents are not natural allies for social movements, but when their ambitions coincide, the political effects can be of first order significance. In their penetrating analysis of this delicate relationship, Milkis and Tichenor provide a guide to the future, for interactions like these are bound to figure more prominently in the years to come.”

Stephen Skowronek, Yale University

“Rivalry and Reform is that rare book that will be of interest to scholars of the presidency and APD but at the same time attract a broader reading public. Well written and original, it’s an important contribution to the field of presidential studies, one that will be widely read and discussed.”

Richard Ellis, Willamette University

“Milkis and Tichenor rightly note that the study of movements and politics sometimes falls between disciplinary and subdisciplinary cracks in sociology and political science. Their most welcome book is a powerful argument to jump the cracks and focus on interactions between movements and more conventional institutional politics, particularly the presidency. Reading broadly in social movement theory, and deeply in the cases they present, the authors have opened a wide area of inquiry and provided a substantial first step that is sure to inspire and inform a new generation of scholars.”

David S. Meyer, University of California, Irvine | Perspectives on Politics

"The book shows that the modern presidency, with its growing relationship to movement organizations, has been a critical factor both in weakening parties and in exacerbating partisanship."

Contemporary Sociology

"Rivalry and Reform is especially enlightening because it considers one set of movements on the political left and another on the right, showing how similarities and differences between the two were affected by who their supporters were and how difficult it was to gain access to presidents. Milkis and Tichenor break down boundaries not only between subdisciplines, but between the study of seemingly very different movements as well."

Mobilization