Book Review: Comrade: An Essay on Political Belonging by Dean, Jodi

sessed a comprehensive knowledge of sweatshops, allowed student organizers to acquire expertise. Second, the USAS’s success was rooted in identifying links between the apparel industry and colleges and universities, which became their central point of leverage. Williams attributes the USAS’s early success to initially building their own legitimacy, followed by disruptive actions (sit-ins) aimed at provoking negotiations with college administrations. This wave of protests resulted in the adoption of stringent codes of conduct, guiding college administrations’ choice of suppliers allowed to sell licensed apparel. In Part III, Williams explores how setbacks and new challenges faced by the USAS following their first victory resulted in strategic innovation. The first cycle of innovation happened as the USAS faced push-backs from corporate social responsibility programs and the creation of the Fair Labour Association, a corporate-led monitoring mechanism to ensure “sweat-free” apparel production. Realizing the need to offer an alternative, the USAS helped create a new independent monitoring organization, the Workers’ Rights Consortium (WRC). However, the WRC’s efforts were limited, as lead companies shifted business away from factories that complied with codes of conduct. Understanding these limitations as structural, the USAS began the second cycle of innovation resulting in the creation of the Designated Suppliers Program (DSP), requiring lead companies to make long-term commitments to their suppliers in exchange for certification. Overall, the book contributes an elaborated study on movement cycles, alternating between proven strategic models and innovative approaches. These cycles of strategic innovation also influence the ideological changes that in turn inform future actions. The ability to assess POS, find points of leverage, and strategize in innovative ways, alternating between disruption and discursive change, may prove an effective path to movement success, not only when focusing on corporations and educational institutions, like in the case of the USAS, but also when challenging nation-states. Strategizing Against Sweatshops is a useful resource for any researcher or student interested in the dynamics of social movements as they face powerful adversaries.