NYU Press East German Dissidents and the Revolution of 1989: Social Movement in a Leninist Regime

Product Description While the dissident movements of Eastern Europe were abandoning communism in pursuit of visions of liberal democracy, the East German movement continued to struggle for reform within the communist movement. In East German Dissidents and the Revolution of 1989, Christian Joppke explains this anomaly in compelling narrative detail. He argues that the peculiarities of German history and culture prevented the possibility of a national opposition to communism. Lured by the regime's proclaimed antifascism, East German dissidents had to remain in a paradoxical way loyal to the opposed regime. The definitive study of East German opposition, Joppke's work also presents an overview of opposition in communist systems in general, providing both a model of social movements within Leninist regimes and a balance to current revisionist histories of the GDR. East German Dissidents and the Revolution of 1989 will be of interest to scholars and students of social movements, revolution, German politics and society, the East European transformation, and communist systems. Review An excellent book. Joppke not only succeeds in presenting a very nuanced, and clearly written, account of the social and intellectual forces that led to the GDR's fall. He also provides an admirable synthesis of much of what we know about the East European expression of Leninism, from the big experiments of the 1950s to the big bang of 1989.--A. James McAdams, University of Notre Dame Christian Joppke's study of the East German dissidents deserves to be a classic in political sociology. The author's mastery of the relevant theoretical literature is dazzling. Add to this his meticulous research and complete command of a complex empirical case, and you have all the ingredients for a truly exceptional book. Joppke's work is as relevant to the student of modern Germany as it is to those interested in the comparative politics of social movements, the European left and nationalism. Rarely have I seen a case study of such far-reaching theoretical as well as political implication as Joppke's.--Andrei S. Markovits, Professor and Chair Board of Studies in Politics University of California, Santa Cruz About the Author Christian Joppke is Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Southern California and the author of Mobilizing Against Nuclear Energy: A Comparison of Germany and the United States.