IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/jocore/v67y2023i7-8p1564-1591.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Political Imprisonment and Protest Mobilization: Evidence From the GDR

Author

Listed:
  • Christoph V. Steinert
  • Christoph Dworschak

Abstract

How does political imprisonment influence anti-regime protest? We argue that political imprisonment facilitates rather than stifles protest. Political imprisonment is a salient indicator of arbitrary rule creating ‘embodied grievances’. It enables the formation of dissident networks within prisons, and serves as a legitimating credential for former inmates to lead resistance. These mechanisms imply that political imprisonment is a self-defeating strategy, making it easier for the opposition to overcome their collective action problem. We test our argument with subnational data from the German Democratic Republic between 1984 and 1989. To account for endogenous latent dissent, we use originally collected archival data on local surveillance operations. Exploiting daily variation in the timing of protests in 1989, we analyze the long-term impact of political imprisonment on mobilization. Results from survival analyses lend support to our hypothesized relationship. Combined with semi-structured interviews to probe our mechanisms, our findings suggest that political imprisonment increases the likelihood of protest mobilization.

Suggested Citation

  • Christoph V. Steinert & Christoph Dworschak, 2023. "Political Imprisonment and Protest Mobilization: Evidence From the GDR," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 67(7-8), pages 1564-1591, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jocore:v:67:y:2023:i:7-8:p:1564-1591
    DOI: 10.1177/00220027221124247
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00220027221124247
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/00220027221124247?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. Fabian Class & Ulrich Kohler & Marian Krawietz, 2018. "The Potsdam Grievance Statistics File. New data on quality of life and political participation for the German Democratic Republic 1970–1989," Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(2), pages 92-114, April.
    2. Karl-Dieter Opp, 1994. "Repression and Revolutionary Action," Rationality and Society, , vol. 6(1), pages 101-138, January.
    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. Jacqueline H.R. DeMeritt & Joseph K Young, 2013. "A political economy of human rights: Oil, natural gas, and state incentives to repress1," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 30(2), pages 99-120, April.
    2. Leeson, Peter T., 2010. "Rational choice, Round Robin, and rebellion: An institutional solution to the problems of revolution," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 73(3), pages 297-307, March.
    3. Travis B. Curtice & Brandon Behlendorf, 2021. "Street-level Repression: Protest, Policing, and Dissent in Uganda," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 65(1), pages 166-194, January.
    4. James Raymond Vreeland, 2008. "The Effect of Political Regime on Civil War," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 52(3), pages 401-425, June.
    5. S. Erdem Aytaç & Luis Schiumerini & Susan Stokes, 2018. "Why Do People Join Backlash Protests? Lessons from Turkey," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 62(6), pages 1205-1228, July.
    6. Ajide, Kazeem B. & Adenuga, Juliet I. & Raheem, Ibrahim D., 2020. "Natural resource rents, political regimes and terrorism in Africa," International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 50-66.
    7. Coyne,Christopher J., 2020. "Defense, Peace, and War Economics," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781108724036.
    8. Kris De Jaegher & Britta Hoyer, 2019. "Preemptive Repression: Deterrence, Backfiring, Iron Fists, and Velvet Gloves," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 63(2), pages 502-527, February.

    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:sae:jocore:v:67:y:2023:i:7-8:p:1564-1591. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://pss.la.psu.edu/ .

    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.