The Sociopolitical Context of Mobilization: The Case of The Antimilitary Movement in The Basque Country

A growing body of literature emphasizes how the political system affects the development of social movements. In this article, I take a complementary position-one that has been relatively underemphasized-that accounts for how social movements might transform their political environment. I underscore the interaction between the movement and civil society as a key process by which movements shape political structures and, in part, make their own political opportunities. I develop this argument by focusing on the civil disobedience campaign carried out by the antimilitary movement in the Basque Country during the period 1989-1993.