Social Movements in Politics
A Comparative Study: Germany's Green,
Poland's Solidarity & Peru's Shining Path

By Cyrus E. Zirakzadeh
Aug 1997
Pearson Education / Longman
ISBN: 0582209463
288 pages
$87.50 Paper original

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As voters throughout the world have become disillusioned with politics and political parties, social movements have emerged as key actors in the promotion of political change. This innovative and important book provides the first ever comparative analysis of three very different types of social movements: the Greens in Germany, Solidarity in Poland, and the Shining Path Movement in Peru.

Contents
Preface.
Acronyms.

Part 1: How we think about Social Movements:
1. Recent Traditions in Social-Movement Theorizing.

Part 2: Germany's Green and the Politics of Party Movements:
2. A World to be Remade: Socio-political Circumstances of Green Politics.
3. Political Antecedents.
4. Clashing Shades of Green.

Part 3: : Poland's Solidarity and movements against Dictatorial Regimes:
5. A World to be Remade: Socio-political Circumstances of Solidarity.
6. Political Antecedents.
7. Discord within Solidarity.

Part 4: Peru's Shining Path and Agrarian-based Movements:
8. A World to be Remade: Socio-political Circumstances of the Shining Path.
9. Political Antecedents.
10. Diverse Directions along the Shining Path.

Part 5: Conclusions:
11. From History to Theory.
References.
Index.

Features
• Discusses the traditions of social-movement theorizing and the logic, biases and insights within social movements
• Emphasizes the historical context of how movements emerge and how goals and strategies develop within the movement. Provides a clear and accessible overview of the theories of social movements
• Uses extended case studies to assess the major theoretical approaches
• Bridges the gap between introductory textbook surveys and specialist journal articles

Review
'His book is a most welcome addition to the teaching literature in comparative politics and sociology. the book is highly recommended.'
Perspectives on Political Science

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