
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.
This book investigates the specific conditions under which nonviolent resistance campaigns successfully facilitate democratic transitions rather than alternative political outcomes. Jonathan C. Pinckney, a political scientist, utilizes a combination of large-scale statistical data and comparative case studies to evaluate the efficacy of civil resistance. He posits that the sustainability of social mobilization and the strategic shift from revolutionary maximalism toward institutional support are the primary determinants of democratic success following nonviolent movements.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Experts in political science and democratization studies recognize this work as a rigorous empirical contribution to the study of civil resistance. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and the systematic nature of the author's methodology.
Page Count:
264
Publication Date:
2020-06-24
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0190097310
ISBN-13:
9780190097318
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