Title Information
Title
Marginal But Not Powerless: Local Politics in an Eastern German Town
Name: Personal
Name Part
Corliss, Catherine Lynne
Role
Role Term: Text
creator
Origin Information
Copyright Date
2012
Physical Description
Extent
xiv, 162 p.
digitalOrigin
born digital
Note
Thesis (Ph.D. -- Brown University (2012)
Name: Personal
Name Part
Jones Luong, Pauline
Role
Role Term: Text
Director
Name: Personal
Name Part
,
Role
Role Term: Text
Director
Name: Personal
Name Part
Blyth, Mark
Role
Role Term: Text
Reader
Name: Personal
Name Part
Morone, James
Role
Role Term: Text
Reader
Name: Corporate
Name Part
Brown University. Political Science
Role
Role Term: Text
sponsor
Genre (aat)
theses
Abstract
This dissertation examines a debate over a mosque in the eastern German village of Heinersdorf as an instance of grassroots civic action in a post-communist society. In this case, a marginalized community that lacked preexisting leaders and organizations established an engaged and enduring citizens’ initiative. On the surface, and according to many media outlets and Western observers, this story is one of ignorant and xenophobic easterners who do not want a mosque in their village. Yet the debate is about far more than just Islam or the articulations of religion, citizenship, and local level politics. While the mosque may have been the catalyst for action, it was not the cause. The events in Heinersdorf reveal a complex relationship between the East and the West that has only intensified since reunification and a village seeking to reestablish the networks and connections that it once had. The mosque debate launched villagers on a new political path, away from disinterest and inactivity and toward active civic engagement. Three factors provide an explanation for the puzzle: an identity forged during and after the transition, new informal networks that harkened back to a time before reunification, and an emergent leader combined to create a lasting citizens’ initiative.
Subject
Topic
marginalization
Subject
Topic
social capital
Subject (FAST) (authorityURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast", valueURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast/862876")
Topic
Civil society
Subject (FAST) (authorityURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast", valueURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast/1072730")
Topic
Post-communism
Subject (FAST) (authorityURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast", valueURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast/1122281")
Topic
Social capital (Sociology)
Subject (FAST) (authorityURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast", valueURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast/979776")
Topic
Islam
Subject (FAST) (authorityURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast", valueURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast/1210272")
Geographic
Germany
Record Information
Record Content Source (marcorg)
RPB
Record Creation Date (encoding="iso8601")
20121023
Language
Language Term: Code (ISO639-2B)
eng
Language Term: Text
English
Identifier: DOI
10.7301/Z01R6NTV
Access Condition: rights statement (href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/")
In Copyright
Access Condition: restriction on access
Collection is open for research.
Type of Resource (primo)
dissertations