In contrast to the dissident movements of Eastern Europe, the East German movement remained committed to the 'revisionist' reform of the communist regime. This book tries to explain why. It is argued that the peculiarities of German history and culture prevented the possibility of a 'national' opposition to communism. As a result, East German dissidents had to remain in a paradoxical way 'loyal' to the old regime.
Throughout human history, religion and politics have entertained the most intimate of connections as systems of authority regulating individuals and society. While the two have come apart through the process of secularization, secularism is challenged today by the return of public religion.
Multiculturalism is controversial in the liberal state and has frequently been declared dead, even in countries that have never had a policy under that name.
This incisive book provides a succinct overview of the new academic field of citizenship and immigration, as well as presenting a fresh and original argument about changing citizenship in our contemporary human rights era.Instead of being nationally resilient or in “postnational” decline, citizenship in Western states has continued to evolve, converging on a liberal model of inclusive citizenship with diminished rights implications and increasingly universalistic identities. This convergence is demonstrated through a sustained comparison of developments in North America, Western Europe and Australia. Topics covered in the book include: recent trends in nationality laws; what ethnic diversity does to the welfare state; the decline of multiculturalism accompanied by the continuing rise of antidiscrimination policies; and the new state campaigns to “upgrade” citizenship in the post-2001 period.Sophisticated and informative, and written in a lively and accessible style, this book will appeal to upper-level students and scholars in sociology, political science, and immigration and citizenship studies.
The immigration and citizenship policies of Western states have often been considered from the vantage point of advancing liberalism. Joppke shows that two additional forces have to be factored in to understand these policies: a new nationalism, but also the neoliberal restructuring of society and state in which it is generated.
In the past two decades young people, environmentalists, church activists, leftists, and others have mobilized against nuclear energy. Anti-nuclear protest has been especially widespread and vocal in Western Europe and the United States. In this lucid, richly documented book, Christian Joppke compares the rise and fall of these protest movements in Germany and the United States, illuminating the relationship between national political structures and collective action. He analyzes existing approaches to the study of social movements and suggests an insightful new paradigm for research in this area. Joppke proposes a political process perspective that focuses on the interrelationship between the state and social movements, a model that takes into account a variety of forces, including differential state structures, political cultures, movement organizations, and temporal and contextual factors. This is an invaluable work for anyone studying the dynamics of social movements around the world.
Religion und Politik in Europa und den USA
Die muslimische Migration in Europa und der wachsende Einfluss der »Christlichen Rechten« in den USA stellen parallele Herausforderungen für den säkularen Staat auf beiden Seiten des Nordatlantiks dar, so der Befund des Soziologen Christian Joppke. Wie kann der Staat sich von Religion freihalten, ohne das Recht auf Religionsfreiheit anzutasten – insbesondere, wenn Religion gegen die Grundsätze des liberalen Staates verstößt, wie etwa gegen Menschenrechte und Gleichbehandlung? In seiner aufschlussreichen und provokativen Studie beschreibt der Autor sowohl auf politischer wie rechtlicher Ebene die Probleme, die sich westlichen säkularen Staaten durch das Comeback von »öffentlicher Religion« stellen.
