Social Movements in Politics, Expanded Edition A Comparative Study

In this book, Zirakzadeh examines different types of social movements, from the Greens in Germany to the Shining Path in Peru. Written in an accessible manner, the book is divided into several sections. The first examines three traditions of social-movement theorizing and the logic, biases, and insights of each. The other sections explore the social movements themselves: how they emerged and developed. The book concludes with a juxtaposition of the three major theoretical approaches and historical findings and proposes a fourth theoretical approach emphasizing factional conflict and reconciliation.

Cyrus Ernesto Zirakzadeh received his Masters degree from Stanford University and his doctorate from the University of California at Berkeley. He has taught at the University of Connecticut since 1985, where he holds the title of Professor of Political Science. He has penned more than a dozen essays for edited books and professional journals, including Polity, Social Movement Studies, Journal of Theoretical Politics, and Comparative Studies in Society and History. The expanded edition of Social Movements in Politics is the fourth book Zirakzadeh has authored. The first edition (1997) received a Choice Outstanding Academic Book award. Zirakzadeh, whose research interests include political thought in literature, is currently co-editing his first anthology, a collection of essays on the political experiences and vision of John Steinbeck.

Dedication * Preface to the Expanded Edition * Acronyms * Part I: How We Think about Social Movements * Chapter 1: Recent Traditions in Social-Movement Theorizing * Part II: West Germany's Greens and the Politics of Party Movements * Chapter 2: A World to Be Remade: Sociopolitical Circumstances of Green Politics * Chapter 3: Political Antedents * Chapter 4: Clashing Shades of Green * Part III: Poland's Solidarity and Movements against Dictatorial Regimes * Chapter 5: A World to Be Remade: Sociopolitical Circumstances of Solidarity * Chapter 6: Political Antecendents * Chapter 7: Discord within Solidarity * Part IV: Peru's Shining Path and Agrarian-Based Movements * Chapter 8: A World to Be Remade: Sociopolitical Circumstances of Shining Path * Chapter 9: Political Antecedents * Chapter 10: Diverse Directions along the Shining Path * Part V: Mexico's Zapatistas and the Globalization of Protest * Chapter 11: A World to Be Remade: Sociopolitical Circumstances of the Zapatista National Liberation Army * Chapter 12: Political Antecedents * Chapter 13: Wanderings of Zapata's Ghost * Part VI: Conclusions * Chapter 14: From History to Theory * References