2006 E.E. Schattschneider Award

For best doctoral dissertation completed and accepted in 2005 in the field of American government and politics.

Award Committee: Arthur Lupia, Chair, University of Michigan; David M. Hart, George Mason University; Eileen McDonagh, Northeastern University

Recipient: Robert W. Mickey, University of Michigan

Dissertation: "Paths Out of Dixie: The Decay of Authoritarian Enclaves in America's Deep South, 1944-1972"

Dissertation Chair: Theda Skocpol, Harvard University

Citation: For the 2006 E.E. Schattschneider Award, the committee recommends "Paths Out of Dixie: The Decay of Authoritarian Enclaves in America's Deep South, 1944-1972" by Robert W. Mickey. The thesis concerns transitions in three southern states: Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina. Some scholars hold that all of the Southern states emerged from the Jim Crow South in a similar manner. Others have argued that the states had different experiences, with some scholars emphasizing economic differences as causing the states to experience different "paths out of Dixie," while other scholars, including Doug McAdam, argued that that pre-existing differences in the manner of black protest organizations explained the difference.

Mickey accounts for these factors, but offers a different and more fundamental explanation. He shows how the role of pre-existing differences in the institutions of state government led to very different paths of out Dixie in the three states. He uses these differences to explain similarities and differences in the three states' reactions to restrictions on the white primary, the Dixiecrat revolt, the Brown decision and college integration, and, finally, the movement of blacks into the Democratic Party and the movement of conservative whites to the Republican Party. The final act shows how the states react to an emboldened national Democratic Party that becomes focused on civil rights and the fall of Jim Crow. In every case, he explains how institutional differences affected the incentives and behaviors of key actors. He shows how these dynamics affected not only when such challenges affected each state but also whether or not each state managed the challenges effectively.

The key tension in the argument is the notion that leaders in the state had roughly similar desires. None wanted Jim Crow to fall. All were against federal interference in race-related issues. None initially wanted to join the Republican Party, given the role that the G.O.P. played in Reconstruction, but many eventually did. While the three states shared these similarities, there were stark differences in how they reacted to new challenges. Mickey documents these differences in compelling detail and argues that state and local institutions are a key source of difference.

"Paths Out of Dixie" is an important piece of scholarship housed in a gripping narrative. As a published book, it will undoubtedly draw the attention of many political scientists and historians. It will force them to rethink how the South got from where it was in the 1940s to where it is today. As a dissertation, it is simply outstanding. We are enthusiastic and unanimous in concluding that the 2006 E.E. Schattschneider Award should go to Robert W. Mickey for "Paths Out of Dixie: The Decay of Authoritarian Enclaves in America's Deep South."

Dr. Mickey received his Ph.D. from Harvard University and is now on the faculty at the University of Michigan.