Return of Tyranny

Why Counterrevolutions Emerge and Succeed

Killian Clarke

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2025
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• eBook ISBN:
  9781009646918
• Subtopic: Politics
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Why do some revolutions fail and succumb to counterrevolutions, whereas others go on to establish durable rule? Marshalling original data on counterrevolutions worldwide since 1900 and new evidence from the reversal of Egypt's 2011 revolution, Killian Clarke explains both why counterrevolutions emerge and when they are likely to succeed. He forwards a movement-centric argument that emphasizes the strategies revolutionary leaders embrace both during their opposition campaigns and after they seize power. Movements that wage violent resistance and espouse radical ideologies establish regimes that are very difficult to overthrow. By contrast, democratic revolutions like Egypt's are more vulnerable, though Clarke also identifies a path by which they too can avoid counterrevolution. By preserving their elite coalitions and broad popular support, these movements can return to mass mobilization to thwart counterrevolutionary threats. In an era of resurgent authoritarianism worldwide, Return of Tyranny sheds light on one particularly violent form of reactionary politics.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title page
• Series page
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Acknowledgments
• Note on Transliteration
• 1 Introduction
• 2 What Is a Counterrevolution?
• 3 A Theory of Counterrevolution
• 4 The Global Emergence and Success of Counterrevolution
• 5 Political Elites and Egypt’s Counterrevolution
• 6 A Popular Mobilization and Egypt’s Counterrevolution
• 7 Trajectories of Counterrevolution
• 8 Conclusion
• Appendix A: Sources for Counterrevolution Dataset
• Appendix B: List of Revolutions and Counterrevolutionary Outcomes
• Appendix C: Coding of Revolutions into Ideology-based Categories
• Appendix D: List of Interviewees
• Appendix E: Interview Strategy
• References
• Index