Considering Political Opportunity Structure : Democratic Complicity and the Antiwar Movement
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2006
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Haverford College. Department of Political Science
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Thesis
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Award
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eng
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Abstract
This thesis is concerned with the emergence and growth of social movements. In particular, it enters the debate on the political opportunity structure that is thought to influence social movement activity. It answers the question: what political conditions facilitate social movement emergence and growth? This thesis studies the case of the Iraq Antiwar Movement, and considers three political factors, the level of access to the political system, political efficacy, and the abandonment of expected elite allies to the cause. This question is especially important when one considers the importance of dissent as an indicator of the condition of democracy. Understanding the hurdles faced by dissent in the United States can explain and predict social movement activity, as well as evaluating the condition of democracy.