From revolution to reunification: Popular protest, social movements and the transformation of East Germany

摘要: This dissertation analyzes popular protest and movements in the transformation of East Germany from the decline of GDR socialism in the late 1980s through the reshaping of movement politics following German reunification. Employing a variety of complementary theoretical perspectives, including social movement theory, institutional theory and cultural sociology, the project provides a novel analysis of the decline of socialism and the popular upheaval that overthrew it in the fall of 1989, drawing comparative conclusions concerning patterns of protest in repressive settings.