Description
Book Synopsis: Why the world’s most resilient dictatorships are products of violent revolution
Revolution and Dictatorship explores why dictatorships born of social revolution—such as those in China, Cuba, Iran, the Soviet Union, and Vietnam—are extraordinarily durable, even in the face of economic crisis, large-scale policy failure, mass discontent, and intense external pressure. Few other modern autocracies have survived in the face of such extreme challenges. Drawing on comparative historical analysis, Steven Levitsky and Lucan Way argue that radical efforts to transform the social and geopolitical order trigger intense counterrevolutionary conflict, which initially threatens regime survival, but ultimately fosters the unity and state-building that supports authoritarianism.
Although most revolutionary governments begin weak, they challenge powerful domestic and foreign actors, often bringing about civil or external wars. These counterrevolutionary wars pose a threat that can destroy new regimes, as in the cases of Afghanistan and Cambodia. Among regimes that survive, however, prolonged conflicts give rise to a cohesive ruling elite and a powerful and loyal coercive apparatus. This leads to the downfall of rival organizations and alternative centers of power, such as armies, churches, monarchies, and landowners, and helps to inoculate revolutionary regimes against elite defection, military coups, and mass protest—three principal sources of authoritarian breakdown.
Looking at a range of revolutionary and nonrevolutionary regimes from across the globe, Revolution and Dictatorship shows why governments that emerge from violent conflict endure.
Details
Discover the hidden secrets behind the world's most resilient dictatorships with Revolution and Dictatorship: The Violent Origins of Durable Authoritarianism. This groundbreaking book by Steven Levitsky and Lucan Way uncovers why dictatorships born out of social revolution, such as those in China, Cuba, Iran, the Soviet Union, and Vietnam, have not only survived but thrived amidst economic crisis, policy failure, and mass discontent.
Through meticulous comparative analysis, Levitsky and Way propose that radical efforts to transform the social and geopolitical order trigger intense counterrevolutionary conflict. Initially, these conflicts threaten the regime's survival, but paradoxically, they eventually foster unity and state-building, bolstering authoritarianism. This phenomenon explains why few other modern autocracies have withstood such extreme challenges.
Revolutionary governments often start weak but defy powerful domestic and foreign actors, leading to civil or external wars. While these wars can be fatal for new regimes, they pave the way for a cohesive ruling elite and a loyal coercive apparatus. As a result, rival organizations and alternative centers of power diminish, safeguarding revolutionary regimes against elite defection, military coups, and mass protest – the principal sources of authoritarian breakdown.
Revolution and Dictatorship transcends geographical boundaries, examining both revolutionary and nonrevolutionary regimes worldwide. If you seek to understand the enduring nature of governments that arise from violent conflict, this book is an indispensable resource.
Ready to unravel the enigmatic resilience of durable authoritarianism? Order your copy of Revolution and Dictatorship: The Violent Origins of Durable Authoritarianism now!
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