From Dissent to Democracy - The Promise and Perils of Civil Resistance Transitions

About the author

Jonathan C. Pinckney is a Program Officer in the Program on Nonviolent Action at the United States Institute of Peace. He received his PhD in 2018 from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver.

Summary

Peaceful protest is a strong driver for democratization across the globe. Yet, it doesn't always lead to democratic transition, as seen in the Arab Spring revolutions in Egypt or Yemen. Why do some nonviolent transitions end in democracy while others do not? In From Dissent to Democracy, Jonathan Pinckney systematically examines transitions initiated by nonviolent resistance campaigns and argues that two key factors explain whether or not democracy will follow such efforts. First, a movement must sustain high levels of social mobilization. Second, it must direct that mobilization away from revolutionary "maximalist" goals and tactics and towards support for new institutions. Pinckney tests his theory by presenting a global statistical analysis of all political transitions from 1945-2011 and three case studies from Nepal, Zambia, and Brazil. Original and empirically rigorous, this book provides new insights into the intersection of democratization and nonviolent resistance and gives actionable recommendations for how to encourage democratic transitions.

Additional text

We know a lot about when and how civil resisters overturn incumbent political regimes. Yet up until now, we have known little about why some nonviolent revolutions consolidate democracy while others fail to do so. In an empirically rich analysis, Jonathan Pinckney examines this important but surprisingly neglected topic. From Dissent to Democracy significantly advances our understanding of post-uprising factors that shape the long-term trajectories of nonviolent revolutions.

Product details

• Authors: Jonathan C. Pinckney, Jonathan C. (Research Fellow Pinckney
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 25.08.2020
• EAN: 9780190097301
• ISBN: 978-0-19-009730-1
• No. of pages: 264
• Subjects: Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Miscellaneous; Postwar 20th century history, from c 1945 to c 2000, PHILOSOPHY / Political, POLITICAL SCIENCE / International Relations / General, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Comparative Politics, International Relations, Political activism, 21st century history: from c 2000 -, General & world history, 21st century, c 2000 to c 2100, Political structures: democracy, Revolutions, uprisings, rebellions, Comparative Politics, Later 20th century c 1950 to c 1999, Pressure groups, protest movements and non-violent action, General and world history, Demonstrations & protest movements, Political activism / Political engagement