Advocacy Organizations in the US Political Process


Andrews and Edwards write in their literature review about advocacy organizations that about the role of networks in legal advocacy organizations. This scholarship is relevant to our understanding of how social media can impact legal advocacy organizations.
“There is an inverse relationship between social homophily and networked access to resources whereby the like-attracts-like principle of homophily leads advocacy groups over time to develop more homogeneous memberships that leave them relatively isolated from the surrounding social structure.
Network relations can also provide access to key resources needed to sustain advocacy (Lin 2001). Advocacy groups that choose to have organizational members formalize network ties and create institutionalized ties through which resources can be shared. Diverse organizational leaders or participants can provide connections beyond the advocacy organization, thus establishing weak ties that broaden the movement’s capacity (Ganz 2000). Arguably, network ties between organizations lack strong mechanisms of accountability and responsibilities that come with formal coalition participation." Pgs. 490-491.


 Kenneth T. Andrews and Bob Edwards,  "Advocacy Organizations in the US Political Process." Annu. Rev. Sociol. 2004. 30:479–506 doi: 10.1146/annurev.soc.30.012703.110542

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