Rebellious Civil Society: Popular Protest and Democratic Consolidation in Poland, 1989-1993 | 
| Authors: Grzegorz Ekiert, Jan Kubik
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Category: Book
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Sales Rank: 3398495
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 296
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.3
ISBN: 0472110276
Dewey Decimal Number: 303.48409438
EAN: 9780472110278
ASIN: 0472110276
Publication Date: November 3, 1999
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Product Description
Poland is the only country in which popular protest and mass opposition, epitomized by the Solidarity movement, played a significant role in bringing down the communist regime. This book, the first comprehensive study of the politics of protest in postcommunist Central Europe, shows that organized protests not only continued under the new regime but also had a powerful impact on Poland's democratic consolidation.
Following the collapse of communism in 1989, the countries of Eastern Europe embarked on the gargantuan project of restructuring their social, political, economic, and cultural institutions. The social cost of these transformations was high, and citizens expressed their discontent in various ways. Protest actions became common events, particularly in Poland. In order to explain why protest in Poland was so intense and so particularized, Grzegorz Ekiert and Jan Kubik place the situation within a broad political, economic, and social context and test it against major theories of protest politics. They conclude that in transitional polities where conventional political institutions such as parties or interest groups are underdeveloped, organized collective protest becomes a legitimate and moderately effective strategy for conducting state-society dialogue. The authors offer an original and rich description of protest movements in Poland after the fall of communism as a basis for developing and testing their ideas. They highlight the organized and moderate character of the protests and argue that the protests were not intended to reverse the change of 1989 but to protest specific policies of the government.
This book contributes to the literature on democratic consolidation, on the institutionalization of state-society relationship, and on protest and social movements. It will be of interest to political scientists, sociologists, historians, and policy advisors.
Grzegorz Ekiert is Professor of Government, Harvard University. Jan Kubik is Associate Professor of Political Science, Rutgers University.
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Winner of the 2000 AAASS/Orbis Books Prize November 30, 2000
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CITATION FOR 2000 AAASS/ORBIS BOOKS PRIZE FOR POLISH STUDIES for an outstanding English-language book on any aspect of Polish affairs co-funded by Orbis Books in LondonDifferent cultures at different moments in history seem to construct civil disobedience and popular protest differently. Where one goes from there depends on two things: one's critical methodology and one's creative hunches. Rebellious Civil Society: Popular Protest and Democratic Consolidation in Poland, 1989-1993 (University of Michigan Press, 1999) by Grzegorz Ekiert and Jan Kubik has just the right mix of innovation and inspiration. It offers a new set of insights into the major points of seismic shift in post-communist Central Europe. Rebellious Civil Society speaks powerfully about, and to, a particular time and place: Poland in the wake of the Velvet Revolution. Placing Poland in a comparative framework, Ekiert and Kubik hack their way through the thickets of theory and data. Central to their discussion is the question: what is the role of popular protest in the consolidation of new democracy? It is a threat or a godsend? Ekiert and Kubik write out of passion for freedom, democracy, and human agency. Their argument is characteristically detailed and lucid, and is supported by a reading of data that has powerful political implications. *Rebellious Civil Society" is a stimulating and well-argued book. It is so well-argued and so lucidly written that it is tempting to write a citation consisting entirely of quotations from the text. Such a combination of compelling scholarship and elegant writing seems almost illicit in a book that ostensibly falls under the rubric of political science. (the prize was presented on November 11, 2000 at the AAASS 32nd National Convention in Denver, Colorado)
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