Add to wishlist
In their pursuit of social justice, revolutionaries have taken on the assembled might of monarchies, empires, and dictatorships. They have often, though not always, sparked cataclysmic violence, and have at times won miraculous victories, though at other times suffered devastating defeat.
This Very Short Introduction illuminates the revolutionaries, their strategies, their successes and failures, and the ways in which revolutions continue to dominate world events and the popular imagination. Starting with the city-states of ancient Greece and Rome, Jack Goldstone traces the development of revolutions through the Renaissance and Reformation, the Enlightenment and liberal constitutional revolutions such as in America, and their opposite—the communist revolutions of the 20th century. He shows how revolutions overturned dictators in Nicaragua and Iran and brought the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, and examines the new wave of non-violent "color" revolutions—the Philippines' Yellow Revolution, Ukraine's Orange Revolution—and the Arab Uprisings of 2011-12 that rocked the Middle East.
In this new edition, Goldstone also sheds light on the major theories of revolution, exploring the causes of revolutionary waves, the role of revolutionary leaders, the strategies and processes of revolutionary change, and the intersection between revolutions and shifting patterns of global power. Further, he explores the role social media and nonviolence play in modern revolutions. Finally, he examines the reasons for diverse revolutionary outcomes, from democracy to civil war and authoritarian rule, and the likely future of revolution in years to come.
List of illustrations
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: What is a revolution?
Chapter 2: What causes revolutions?
Chapter 3: Revolutionary processes, leadership, and outcomes
Chapter 4: Revolutions in the ancient world
Chapter 5: Revolutions in the Renaissance and Reformation
Chapter 6: Constitutional revolutions: America, France, Europe (1830 and 1848), and Meiji Japan
Chapter 7: Communist revolutions: Russia, China, and Cuba
Chapter 8: Revolutions against dictators: Mexico, Nicaragua, and Iran
Chapter 9: Color revolutions: The Philippines, Eastern Europe and the USSR, and Ukraine
Chapter 10: The Arab revolutions of 2011: Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Syria
Chapter 11: The future of revolutions
References
Further reading
Index
Description
In their pursuit of social justice, revolutionaries have taken on the assembled might of monarchies, empires, and dictatorships. They have often, though not always, sparked cataclysmic violence, and have at times won miraculous victories, though at other times suffered devastating defeat.
This Very Short Introduction illuminates the revolutionaries, their strategies, their successes and failures, and the ways in which revolutions continue to dominate world events and the popular imagination. Starting with the city-states of ancient Greece and Rome, Jack Goldstone traces the development of revolutions through the Renaissance and Reformation, the Enlightenment and liberal constitutional revolutions such as in America, and their opposite—the communist revolutions of the 20th century. He shows how revolutions overturned dictators in Nicaragua and Iran and brought the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, and examines the new wave of non-violent "color" revolutions—the Philippines' Yellow Revolution, Ukraine's Orange Revolution—and the Arab Uprisings of 2011-12 that rocked the Middle East.
In this new edition, Goldstone also sheds light on the major theories of revolution, exploring the causes of revolutionary waves, the role of revolutionary leaders, the strategies and processes of revolutionary change, and the intersection between revolutions and shifting patterns of global power. Further, he explores the role social media and nonviolence play in modern revolutions. Finally, he examines the reasons for diverse revolutionary outcomes, from democracy to civil war and authoritarian rule, and the likely future of revolution in years to come.
