Levitsky, Steven, 1968-

Revolution and dictatorship : the violent origins of durable authoritarianism / Jacket title: Revolution & dictatorship Steven Levitsky, Lucan Way. - xi, 638 pages : illustrations, charts ; 24 cm

Includes bibliographical references (pages 525-605) and index.

A Theory of Revolutionary Durability -- The Revolutionary Origins of Soviet Durability -- The Revolutionary Origins of Chinese Authoritarian Durability -- The Durability of Mexico's Revolutionary Regime -- Regime Origins and Diverging Paths in Vietnam, Algeria, and Ghana -- Radicalism and Durability : Cuba and Iran -- Radical Failures : Early Deaths of the Hungarian Soviet Republic, the Khmer Rouge, and the Taliban -- Accommodation and Instability : Bolivia, Nicaragua, and Guinea-Bissau.

"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." -- Page 2 of cover

0691169527 (hardback) 9780691169521 (hardback)

2022932449

GBC2C1466 bnb

020675906 Uk


Revolutions.
Revoluciones
Authoritarianism.
Autoritarismo
Political stability.
Dictatorship.
Dictadura
Authoritarianism

JC 491 / L666r 2022

303.6/4