East German dissidents and the revolution of 1989

""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 "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 While the dissident movements of Eastern Europe were abandoning communism in pursuit o