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This work examines the environment and events of the spring 1989 Tiananmen Square tragedy. The author argues that the mass movement, which climaxed in Beijing, can be understood only if attention is given to the external environment that provided both opportunities and constraints to the interactions of participating groups, to the shifting participants and their goals and interests, and to the historical and cultural factors which guided the behavior of those participants (on both the student and government sides). Unlike other works on this topic, The Struggle for Tiananmen describes and analyzes the movement from its inception to its end--presenting the entire process, providing information from both the authorities and non-student participants, identifying the interactions between external events and the movement, and placing the particular event in the larger context of social movements.
This work will be of interest to scholars and laymen alike in contemporary history, Chinese studies, sociology, and political science.
List of contents
Background
The Events:A Chronological Account
The Significance of the Movement: Features of the Mass Movement
Sources of Discontent: Background of the Mass Movement
The Movement
The Triggering Events and Initiation of the Movement
Stunning Success and Total Mobilization
Party Reactions
Martial Law, Confrontations, and the Stalemate
The Resolution
Anatomy of a Movement
Diversity of Participants and Motivations
Flow of Information
Who, What, and Why? Analysis of "Puzzles"
Conceptual Analysis of the Mass Movement
Organizations, Names and Abbreviations
Bibliography
Index
About the author
NAN LIN is a Professor and Director of the Asian/Pacific Studies Institute at Duke University and his publications include
Life Stress and Well-being (forthcoming),
Social Support, Life Events, and Depression,
Social Structure and Network Analysis,
Foundation of Social Research, and
The Study of Human Communication.
