Consciousness-Raising in 1960s West Germany: Youth Revolt and Its Meanings

• Main Authors: Ya-Hui Hsueh, 薛雅卉
• Other Authors: Sy-Shyan Chen
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2017
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/8b9n64

碩士 === 國立臺灣大學 === 政治學研究所 === 105 === This study hopes to explore how youth revolt in the sixties in West Germany discussed and questioned the Cold War structure where its society has a role, and the meanings of this. In the field of International Relations or International History, the formation of international order or arrangements often revolves around nation-states, and centers issues of “high politics,” such as diplomacy, security and military strategies to explore the ways national governments interact, cooperate or compete with each other. Therefore, peoples and societies the framework of international politics touches upon are often viewed as secondary, their response rendered insignificant, having few impacts on arrangements of international politics. However, international political arrangements will influence life and existence of societies and individuals profoundly in the end, shaping new lifestyles or identities of human societies. The reason is that, for an individual, this is a way one connect with a greater community, and, to a society, this is a basis of its role and identity. When such kind of responses from individuals or societies gain enough attention or following, they may as well have impacts on political decisions or political culture, especially in a democratic polity. Hence, ignoring the impacts of international political arrangements at the societal level and responses thereof may result in overlooking subtle yet crucial changes in a seemingly stable international order, and in equalizing recklessly ideological description and real situations. Youth revolt in the sixties in West Germany serves as a good case to study because of the dual international arrangements imposed on the defeated country, the division of Germany and reorientation by the Allied occupation. The unrest was not only a challenge to the international community but also a turning point for West German politics. To inquire what gave rise to the movements in West Germany, the study first combs through general social and political context, and then discusses characteristics of the context and the movements that mushroomed in the frameworks of some of the social movement theories. The first chapter briefly introduces the topic and some relevant research and literatures in English. The second chapter addresses the concept and theoretical framework in the studies of social movements. The third chapter focuses on the sources of inspiration and dynamics of some of the events. The fourth chapter offers some analysis of the movements based on theoretical frameworks of social movement studies. The last chapter concludes how the bottom-up challenge have shifted the West German society and sparked a more critical discussion on the country’s recent past, which in turn has a lasting impact on the German political culture.