IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/socsci/v105y2024i3p597-611.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Individual legal action as minority activism: Romani Germans in 1950s West Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Claire Greenstein

Abstract

Objectives Social movement theory argues that activist movements emerge when the political opportunity structure is favorable. This article contributes to the literature on social movements and minority activism by showing that individual‐level activism happens even without a favorable opportunity structure. Methods The legal journal Rechtsprechung zum Wiedergutmachungsrecht (Case Law on Reparations Legislation), published from 1949 to 1981, reported on West German courts’ decisions about reparations claims appeals. All issues were examined for decisions on reparations claims appeals that Romani Germans submitted regarding West Germany's 1953 federal reparations law, despite the unfavorable political opportunity structure. The number of these appeals is reported, and select cases are discussed. Results Every time a Romani claimant appealed a denied reparations claim, they were, according to feminist definitions of everyday activism, committing an act of activism. Such appeals appear repeatedly in the Rechtsprechung zum Wiedergutmachungsrecht, demonstrating that if scholars look for activism at an individual level, not a group level, evidence shows that members of marginalized minority groups engage in activism regardless of the political opportunity structure. Conclusions These findings show that, if individual‐level activism is included in scholarly analyses, it becomes apparent that minority activism occurs even when the political opportunity structure is unfavorable.

Suggested Citation

  • Claire Greenstein, 2024. "Individual legal action as minority activism: Romani Germans in 1950s West Germany," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 105(3), pages 597-611, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:socsci:v:105:y:2024:i:3:p:597-611
    DOI: 10.1111/ssqu.13378
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.13378
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/ssqu.13378?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Karlia Nicole Brown, 2021. "Why black women activists stay in the room when they are not being heard," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 102(7), pages 3073-3080, December.
    2. Kitschelt, Herbert P., 1986. "Political Opportunity Structures and Political Protest: Anti-Nuclear Movements in Four Democracies," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(1), pages 57-85, January.
    3. Kathy H. Rim, 2009. "Latino and Asian American Mobilization in the 2006 Immigration Protests," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 90(3), pages 703-721, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jung-In Jo & Hyun Jin Choi, 2019. "Enigmas of grievances about inequality: Effects of attitudes toward inequality and government redistribution on protest participation," International Area Studies Review, Center for International Area Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, vol. 22(4), pages 348-368, December.
    2. Kazenin, Konstantin (Казенин, Константин) & Koroleva, Maria (Королева, Мария), 2018. "Sociology of Social Movements – Main Approaches [Социология Общественных Движений – Основные Подходы]," Working Papers 061802, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration.
    3. Newton, Kenneth & Giebler, Heiko, 2008. "Patterns of participation: Political and social participation in 22 nations," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Democracy and Democratization SP IV 2008-201, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    4. Sierra, Jazmin & Hochstetler, Kathryn, 2017. "Transnational activist networks and rising powers: transparency and environmental concerns in the Brazilian National Development Bank," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 79089, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Hess, David J., 2020. "Incumbent-led transitions and civil society: Autonomous vehicle policy and consumer organizations in the United States," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    6. Livia Johannesson & Noomi Weinryb, 2021. "How to blame and make a difference: perceived responsibility and policy consequences in two Swedish pro-migrant campaigns," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 54(1), pages 41-62, March.
    7. Rucht, Dieter, 1990. "Campaigns, skirmishes and battles: anti-nuclear movements in the USA, France and West-Germany," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 4(3), pages 193-222.
    8. Wu, Jing & Chang, I-Shin & Yilihamu, Qimanguli & Zhou, Yu, 2017. "Study on the practice of public participation in environmental impact assessment by environmental non-governmental organizations in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 186-200.
    9. repec:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/8523 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/8526 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Rucht, Dieter, 1994. "Öffentlichkeit als Mobilisierungsfaktor für soziale Bewegungen," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, pages 337-358.
    12. Zorn, Annika, 2002. "Wie die Löffelente bis nach Brüssel kam - oder: Wie sucht man nach europäischen Bewegungen?," Discussion Papers, Working Group Political Communication and Mobilization P 02-701, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    13. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/8526 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Jale Tosun & Aurel Croissant, 2016. "Policy Diffusion: A Regime-sensitive Conceptual Framework," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 7(4), pages 534-540, November.
    15. Cornelia Woll & Alvaro Artigas, 2007. "When Trade Liberalization Turns into Regulatory Reform: The Impact on Business-Government Relations in International Trade Politics," Post-Print hal-01071209, HAL.
    16. Manlio Cinalli, 2003. "Socio‐politically polarized contexts, urban mobilization and the environmental movement: a comparative study of two campaigns of protest in Northern Ireland," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(1), pages 158-177, March.
    17. Cornelia Woll, 2006. "Lobbying in the European Union: From Sui Generis to a Comparative Perspective," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-01021182, HAL.
    18. Sergio Belda-Miquel & Jordi Peris Blanes & Alexandre Frediani, 2016. "Institutionalization and Depoliticization of the Right to the City: Changing Scenarios for Radical Social Movements," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(2), pages 321-339, March.
    19. John Gaffney, 2003. "The French Fifth Republic as an Opportunity Structure: A Neo‐institutional and Cultural Approach to the Study of Leadership Politics," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 51(4), pages 686-705, December.
    20. Fremeth, Adam R. & Holburn, Guy L. F. & Piazza, Alessandro, 2021. "Activist Protest Spillovers into the Regulatory Domain: Theory and Evidence from the U.S. Nuclear Power Generation Industry," OSF Preprints s39h2, Center for Open Science.
    21. Brigitte Horváthová & Michael Dobbins, 2019. "Organised Interests in the Energy Sector: A Comparative Study of the Influence of Interest Groups in Czechia and Hungary," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(1), pages 139-151.
    22. Zack W. Almquist & Benjamin E. Bagozzi, 2019. "Using Radical Environmentalist Texts to Uncover Network Structure and Network Features," Sociological Methods & Research, , vol. 48(4), pages 905-960, November.
    23. Kimberly Turner, 2023. "A win or a flop? Measuring mass protest successfulness in authoritarian settings," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 60(1), pages 107-123, January.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:socsci:v:105:y:2024:i:3:p:597-611. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0038-4941 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.