"[A] fascinating and timely new book. . . .Strolovitch treats the term 'crisis' as a 'keyword': a type of word that has its meaning shaped by social and political processes as well as a word that’s political meaning imbues power. That power includes when it’s used as well as when it’s not."

Heath Brown | 3Streams

"Strolovitch builds a strong case for how privileged communities use and usurp true crises in marginalized communities to gain resourced and power. This is a must read for students of economics, public policy, race relations, political science, and sociology."

Choice

"In her book, When Bad Things Happen to Privileged People: Race, Gender, and What Makes a Crisis in America, Strolovitch examines how politicians construct and exploit the idea that an event or problem is a “crisis” to justify using state power and resources to address it. As [Strolovitch] explains, they are most likely to declare and treat something as a crisis when persistent issues that mostly impact marginalized communities begin to affect more privileged and dominant groups. The book was this year’s co-winner of the American Political Science Association’s Race, Ethnicity, and Politics’  Best Book Award."

Yale Institution for Social and Policy Studies

“When Bad Things Happen to Privileged People provides an enlightening analysis of how the idea of crisis has been constructed, evolved, and deployed by actors from the elites at the center of our governing apparatus to activists pushing from the margins. In this important book, we recognize that the frame of crisis is another tool that must be accounted for when trying to understand the political and economic landscape that we face and some seek to change.”

Cathy Cohen | author of "Democracy Remixed: Black Youth and the Future of American Politics"

"When Bad Things Happen to Privileged People is a powerful examination of crisis construction and of the ramifications of crisis politics for both advantaged and disadvantaged groups. Strolovitch brilliantly develops her distinctive vision for a more meaningful and just American democracy, while covering exciting new terrain that has been almost entirely ignored by political scientists."

Paul Frymer | author of "Building an American Empire: The Era of Territorial and Political Expansion"

"Strolovitch’s study is a meticulous and timely reminder that crises are neither natural occurrences nor neutral in how they direct action in a context marked by longstanding inequalities. Crises, instead, are political constructions. From housing and unemployment to policing and public health, this groundbreaking book will transform our thinking about the crises that have dominated public attention over the last few decades.”

Chloe Thurston | author of "At the Boundaries of Homeownership: Credit, Discrimination and the American State"

"This is a sharp and much needed intervention in how political science conceptualises and applies the idea of 'crisis' to moments of upheaval, uncertainty and transformation. As Strolovitch persuasively argues, a crisis is not quite what it seems. Those marganlized groups, for whom misfortune is a policy goal, do not necessarily experience crises. Instead, crisis, like much else in American political life, is reserved for those powerful groups who must be protected from life's vagaries."

Akwugo Emejulu | author of "Fugitive Feminism"

“Strolovitch conducts an exhaustive rhetorical analysis of crisis in well-selected print sources that incorporate both media and government, carving out distinctive territory in its direct focus on the rhetoric of crisis in politics.”

Julie Novkov | University at Albany, SUNY

“The evidence that Strolovitch marshalls is wide-ranging, spanning sources from newspapers to organizational players to congress and the presidency. The time span and grasp of history is extremely impressive with writing that is accessible and fluid.”

Leslie McCall | The Graduate Center, City University of New York