Nella Van Dyke is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Merced, USA. She is the editor of Strategic Alliances: Coalition Building and Social Movements. David S. Meyer is Professor of Sociology, Political Science, and Planning, Policy, and Design at the University of California, Irvine, USA. He is the author of The Politics of Protest: Social Movements in America and editor of Routing the Opposition: Social Movements, Public Policy, and Democracy in America and Social Movements: Identity, Culture, and the State.

• Contents: Preface; Introduction, Nella Van Dyke and David S. Meyer; Part I Explaining the Timing and Pace of the Mobilization: Politics and Resources: What’s new about the Tea Party movement?, Rory McVeigh; Three-layer movements, resources, and the Tea Party, Tina Fetner and Brayden G. King; Social movement partyism and the Tea Party’s rapid mobilization, Paul Almeida and Nella Van Dyke; The Tea Party and the dilemmas of conservative populism, David S. Meyer and Amanda Pullum. Part II Who Mobilized and Why? Ideology, Identity, and Emotions in the Tea Party: The Tea Party moment, Abby Scher and Chip Berlet; From fervor to fear: ICT and emotions in the Tea Party movement, Deana A. Rohlinger and Jesse Klein; Who are ’we the people’? Multidimensional identity work in the Tea Party, Ruth Braunstein; Conclusion, Nella Van Dyke and David S. Meyer; Index.

’With the rise and now potential decline of the Tea Party movement, we have been sorely in need of a volume explaining this pivotal early 21st century conservative mobilization. With Van Dyke and Meyer’s edited volume, containing chapters written by scholars foremost in their field, we now have the definitive source on this fascinating and important social movement.’ Holly McCammon, Vanderbilt University, USA 'When the Tea Party movement erupted, it challenged mainstream politics and scholars: where did the Tea Party’s resources come from? Who were its supporters? What defined their goals and identities? In this volume, some of the most insightful scholars of social movements today provide convincing answers to these questions. Better than any other, this volume shows why the Tea Party emerged and how it has reshaped the political landscape.’ Jack A. Goldstone, George Mason University, USA