A Concise History of Revolution

Presenting a new framework for the study of revolutions, this innovative exploration of French, Russian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Cuban, Iranian, South African, and more recent Arab revolutions, provides a theoretically grounded and empirically comprehensive demonstration of how revolutions mean more than mere state collapse and rebuilding. Through the examination of multiple historical case studies, and use of extensive historical examples to explore a range of revolutions, Mehran Kamrava reveals the range and depth of human emotion and motivations that are so prevalent and consequential in revolutions, from personal commitment to sacrifice, determination, leadership ability, charisma, opportunism, and avarice.

1. Introduction; 2. From rebellion to revolution; 3. Social movements and revolution; 4. Revolutionary states; 5. Revolutionary polities; 6. Conclusion; Chronology of revolutions.

Mehran Kamrava is Professor and Director of the Center for International and Regional Studies at Georgetown University, Qatar. He is the author of numerous journal articles and books, including The Modern Middle East: A Political History since the First World War (3rd edition, 2013), Qatar: Small State, Big Politics (2013), The Impossibility of Palestine: History, Geography, and the Road Ahead (2016), Troubled Waters: Insecurity in the Persian Gulf (2018) and Inside the Arab State (2018).