“Karapin’s study significantly contributes to a new trajectory in social movement theorizing, going beyond the presumption that fixed grievances, resources, and opportunities shape the choice of protest strategies. Rather, actors engage in opportunity amplification and enhancement, as they interact with allies and adversaries. Both the theoretical exposition in Karapin’s study and the comparative analysis of protest episodes in Germany make this book valuable reading for anyone interested in social movement theory.” —Herbert S. Kitschelt, Duke University

“Providing detailed analysis of several recent social movements in Germany, Roger Karapin explains the development of social movement campaigns, with particular concern for activists’ tactical and strategic choices. By comparing similarly situated movements, Karapin shows the extent to which activists make their own fates, given the very real constraints of political contingencies, including the quality of government leadership, the effectiveness of policing, and the support of party politicians. This book is critical reading for anyone interested in social movements and in German politics more broadly.” —David S. Meyer, University of California, Irvine

"From left-wing nuclear energy protests to right-wing attacks on immigrants; from impoverished East to post-industrial West: Germany's protest repertoire is rich and changing. In this wide-ranging study, Roger Karapin shows how the interactions among alliances, reforms, and policing produced large and influential movements-and sometimes success-in a country that has learned to civilize, and respond to, social protest. Inter alia, Karapin shows how unconventional and conventional politics mesh through the interactions among elites, activists, and institutions." —Sidney Tarrow, Cornell University

"Based on broad and detailed empirical evidence from nine cases of conflict that include both left and right movement activities and compares sets of contrasting cases, this study promotes an interactive political process approach. The author convincingly demonstrates that this approach can better explain the scope and form of protest than conventional theories drawing on socio-economic factors and political institutions. This thought-provoking and well-researched book is a must for all students of social movements and political protest." —Dieter Rucht, Social Science Center Berlin

Social movements and the protests they spawn are widely regarded as important to the vibrancy of democracy and its ability to respond constructively to change. In the immediate postwar period, West Germany’s was a “spectator democracy,” with the citizenry largely passive and elites operating mainly through consensus. Beginning with the student demonstrations in the late 1960s, however, Germany experienced waves of left-wing protest that expanded the political agenda and broadened political participation. Later, after the unification of East and West Germany, the country was confronted by new challenges from right-wing groups, which often engaged in violence during the early 1990s.

In this book Roger Karapin carefully examines protest movements on both the left and the right in order to understand how they became large and influential and why protesters in different conflicts used quite different methods (ranging from conventional participation to nonviolent disruption to violent militancy). His study of nine cases of protest includes leftist opposition to urban-renewal and nuclear-energy policies in the 1970s and 1980s and rightist opposition to immigration policy in the 1990s. Comparisons of contrasting cases reveal the crucial role played by strategic interaction among protesters, party politicians, and government officials—rather than socioeconomic factors or political institutions—in determining the paths that the movements took.