POLITICAL EMPOWERMENT, LOCAL CENTRAL STATE RELATIONS, AND GEOGRAPHICALLY SHIFTING POLITICAL OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURES - STRATEGIES OF THE CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, PEACE MOVEMENT

Political empowerment requires inclusion in democratic decision-making processes. In many contexts, this means gaining a voice within the local and/or central state. Drawing on a modified version of Tarrow's political process model, the present research investigates the manner in which changing political opportunities at the central and local state levels have affected the nature and scale of focus of peace movement mobilization in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Geographical and temporal variations in struggles for state control are clearly evident. Peace movement campaigns have, at times, been directed at the central state; at other times the peace movement has exercised considerable influence in local states. The severity of grievances, the interaction of local and national political opportunity structures, and economic ramifications have been crucial to the success or failure of specific campaigns.