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.