PART I: NATIONAL IDENTITY, ETHNICITY, AND PUBLIC POLICY How did the irish americans become irish? Gaelic sports and the organization of irish ethnicity in new york city - Dan Lainer-Vos Sanctified Mobilization: How Political Activists Manage Institutional Boundaries In Faith-Based Organizing For Immigrant Rights - Marion Coddou National Identity And Governmental Authority: The Intersection Of National Identity, Immigration Policy, And The Child Welfare System In The United States - Joanna Kaftan Revisiting Mothers' Pensions: A Critique Of A Social Science Classic And A New Analysis - Sheera Joy Olasky and David F. Greenberg PART II: POLITICAL ELITES AND POLITICAL CONTENTION Essential Contestants, Essential Contests - John Markoff Elites, Policy, And Social Movements - David Pettinicchio The Militarization Theory In Post-Soviet Russia: Dispelling The Pathological Look At Political And Administrative Elites - Victor Violier Changing Political Fortunes: Race, Class, And “Black Power” In The Rise And Fall Of A Black Urban Regime In Oakland - Eric S. Brown The Strength Of Civil Society Ties: Explaining Party Change In America's Bluest State - Johnnie Lotesta

Barbara Wejnert, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA Paolo Parigi, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA