Revolution and Dictatorship : The Violent Origins of Durable Authoritarianism - Steven Levitsky

Revolution and Dictatorship

The Violent Origins of Durable Authoritarianism

By: Steven Levitsky, Lucan Way

Paperback | 5 February 2025

At a Glance

Paperback


RRP $49.99

$40.50

19%OFF

or 4 interest-free payments of $10.13 with

 or 

Available: 5th February 2025

Preorder. Will ship when available.

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.

'A sweeping historical analysis.' - Dexter Roberts, Washington Post

'A clear and comprehensive analysis.' - Cady Lang and Angela Haupt, TIME

More in Comparative Politics

Academic Freedom in Africa : The Struggle Rages On - Yamikani Ndasauka

RRP $284.00

$200.95

29%
OFF
Academic Freedom in Africa : The Struggle Rages On - Yamikani Ndasauka
Comparative Health Policy : 5th Edition - Robert H. Blank

RRP $76.99

$65.75

15%
OFF
Politics : 5th edition - Andrew Heywood

RRP $90.95

$77.25

15%
OFF
Comparative Government and Politics : 12th Edition - John McCormick
The Australian Political System in Action : 2nd Edition - Narelle Miragliotta
Rebel Rulers : Insurgent Governance and Civilian Life during War - Zachariah Cherian Mampilly
Foreign Policy Analysis : Classic and Contemporary Theory 3ed - Valerie M. Hudson
Comparative Politics : 5th Edition - Daniele Caramani

RRP $83.95

$71.75

15%
OFF
The Obama Administration : Perceptions and Encounters Beyond America - Rachel Pistol
Nations, States and Empires - John A. Hall
Politics - Andrew Heywood

Hardcover

RRP $240.00

$169.90

29%
OFF
Politics - Andrew Heywood

Paperback

RRP $79.99

$63.95

20%
OFF
Whiteness In Puerto Rico : Translation at a Loss - Guillermo Rebollo Gil

RRP $59.99

$49.25

18%
OFF