Public-Good Movements and the Dimensions of Political Process

Abstract

Although nuclear war would have proven equally deadly to all West Germans, only certain people at certain times mobilized against this potential danger. What explains the cyclicity of peace protest, the composition of movement activism, and variations in organizational structure over time? Adopting a political process framework, a three-pronged argument is made. The timing, duration, and size of peace mobilization cycles reflected the mix of opportunities and constraints provided by the public-policy process and other aspects of politics. The framing of defense issues by institutions and extraparliamentary groups strongly influenced the composition of movement activism. Adequate organizational capacities depended on the availability of autonomous extraparliamentary networks. Although the political process framework has usually served to analyze citizenship movements, it is adapted here to a public-good movement.