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47 Comp. Pol. Stud. 3 (2014)

handle is hein.journals/compls47 and id is 1 raw text is: Article Comparative Political Studies 2014,Vol 47(1) 3-29 HavingYour@TheAuthor(s) 2012 Reprints and permissions: in Csagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0010414012439184 Opportunity and Tactical cps.sagepub.com Choice in Anti-GMO OSAGE Campaigns in France and the United Kingdom Brian Doherty' and Graeme Hayes Abstract Investigating the recent direct action campaigns against genetically modified crops in France and the United Kingdom, the authors set out to under- stand how contrasting judicial systems and cultures affect the way that ac- tivists choose to commit ostensibly illegal actions and how they negotiate the trade-offs between effectiveness and public accountability. The authors find evidence that prosecution outcomes across different judicial systems are consistent and relatively predictable and consequently argue that the concept of a judicial opportunity structure is useful for developing schol- ars' understanding of social movement trajectories. The authors also find that these differential judicial opportunities cannot adequately account for the tactical choices made by activists with respect to the staging of covert or overt direct action; rather, explanations of tactical choice are better ac- counted for by movement ideas, cultures, and traditions. Keywords social movements, prosecution, judicial systems, tactical choice, GMOs iKeele University, Keele, UK 21nstitut d'Etudes Politiques de Rennes, Rennes, France Corresponding Author: Graeme Hayes, School of Languages & Social SciencesAston University, UK / CNRS, Centre de recherche sur I'action politique en Europe, Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Rennes, 104 bd de la Duchesse Anne, 35700 Rennes, France. Email: graeme.hayes@sciencespo-rennes.fr