Exit-Voice Dynamics and the Collapse of East Germany

Pfaff Steven Pfaff

Description

Winner of the Social Science History Association President's Book AwardEast Germany was the first domino to fall when the Soviet bloc began to collapse in 1989. Its topple was so swift and unusual that it caught many area specialists and social scientists off guard; they failed to recognize the instability of the Communist regime, much less its fatal vulnerability to popular revolt. In this volume, Steven Pfaff identifies the central mechanisms that propelled the extraordinary and surprisingly bloodless revolution within the German Democratic Republic (GDR). By developing a theory of how exit-voice dynamics affect collective action, Pfaff illuminates the processes that spurred mass demonstrations in the GDR, led to a peaceful surrender of power by the hard-line Leninist elite, and hastened German reunification. While most social scientific explanations of collective action posit that the option for citizens to emigrate-or exit-suppresses the organized voice of collective public protest by providing a lower-cost alternative to resistance, Pfaff argues that a different dynamic unfolded in East Germany. The mass exit of many citizens provided a focal point for protesters, igniting the insurgent voice of the revolution.Pfaff mines state and party records, police reports, samizdat, Church documents, and dissident manifestoes for his in-depth analysis not only of the genesis of local protest but also of the broader patterns of exit and voice across the entire GDR. Throughout his inquiry, Pfaff compares the East German rebellion with events occurring during the same period in other communist states, particularly Czechoslovakia, China, Poland, and Hungary. He suggests that a trigger from outside the political system-such as exit-is necessary to initiate popular mobilization against regimes with tightly centralized power and coercive surveillance.

Sujets

• Sociologie, société et politique
• History of Europe
• Germany

Informations

• Publié par: Duke University Press
• Date de parution: 10 juillet 2006
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780822387923
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Exit-Voice Dynamics and the Collapse of East Germany

Exit-Voice Dynamics

and the Collapse of East Germany

the crisis of leninism and the revolution of 1989

Steven Pfa√

Duke University Press Durham and London 2006

∫2006 Duke University Press

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper$

Designed by Heather Hensley

Typeset in Minion by Keystone Typesetting, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data appear on the last printed page of this book.

For Karen

Contents

Illustrations

ix

Preface and Acknowledgments

Introduction

1

xi

1. Exit-Voice Dynamics and Collective Action

14

2. Blocked Voice, Demobilization, and the Crisis of East German Communism 31

3. No Exit: The Niche Society and the Limits of Coercive Surveillance 61

4.Dona Nobis Pacem: Political Subcultures, the Church, and the Birth of Dissident Voice 81

5. Triggering Insurgent Voice: The Exiting Crisis and the Rebellion against Communism 107

6. Fight or Flight? A Statistical Evaluation of Exit-Voice Dynamics in the East German Revolution 142

7. Why Was There No ‘‘Chinese Solution’’ in the GDR?

165

8. Activists of the First Hour: New Forum and the Mobilization of Reformist Voice 190

9. Reunification as the Collective Exit from Socialism

Conclusion

254

224

Appendix: Quantitative Data and the Statistical Analysis of County-Level Exit and Voice Relationships 267

Notes

275

Bibliography

Index

325

299

Illustrations

Figures

1. Trends in the Number of Protesters and Emigrants: East Germany, 1989–1990 16

2. Map of the Principal Cities and Regional Administrative Districts (Bezirke41) of the GDR

3. Exit Applicants per 10,000 Population in GDR Districts, 1988 44

4. Percentage of GDR Youth (16–24) Strongly Identifying with Marxism-Leninism, by Social Category, 1975–1988 49

5. Percentage of GDR Youth (16–24) Reporting ‘‘Full Trust’’ insedLeadership, by Social Category, 1970–1989 53

6. Emigration from the GDR, 1949–1990

65

7. Religious Identification of GDR Youth, 1969–1988

85

8. Number of Emigrants from the GDR, January–October 1989 109

9. Percentage of Protesters Arrested in the Principal Cities of the GDR, October 1–8, 1989 136

10. The Shifting Balance of Exit and Voice in the GDR: Comparison of Number of Exiters to Number of Protesters, August–October 1989 137

11. Frequency Distributions of Protests and Exiters at the County Level 155

12. The E√ect of Exit on Voice: Predicted Regressions Lines against Empirical Observations 162

13. Total Protest Participation in GDR Districts, September 1989– March 1990 200