Negotiated Revolutions : The Czech Republic, South Africa and Chile

Straightforward histories of post-revolution States have all too often failed to provide sufficient context to rescue revolution, both as concept and practice, from the misplaced triumphalism of the contemporary world. In Negotiated Revolutions George Lawson marks a definitive departure in the study of radical political and socio-economic change, presenting a unique comparative analysis of three transformations from authoritarian rule to market democracy. Through the lens of international sociology the book critically considers the large scale processes of social and political revolution, bringing three apparently distinct transformations, from seemingly disparate authoritarian regimes and geographies, under a common rubric. With unique and novel conceptual analysis the book accurately locates both the potential and actuality of radical change in contemporary world affairs, processes usually mistakenly subsumed under the general framework of 'transitology'. Contents: Introduction: the two faces of revolution Towards an international sociology Studying revolutions A story of memory over forgetting: the Czech Republic The longest walk: South Africa Por la Razón o la Fuerza: Chile Negotiated revolutions Bibliography Index. Professor Fred Halliday, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK. "This is a very important book. George Lawson provides by far the best comparative and international discussion of the negotiated revolutions that took place at the end of the Cold War, and analyses these events in light of his considerable insights into the on-going debates about theories of revolution." Professor O.A. Westad, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK. Author Biography: Dr George Lawson is from the Department of International Relations at The London School of Economics and Political Science, UK. From the time of the great exchanges between Thomas Paine and Edmund Burke over the sanctity or barbarism of the French Revolution, scholars have disagreed fundamentally over what John Dunn calls the 'two faces of revolution'. In 'Negotiated Revolutions' George Lawson reclaims the concept and practice of revolution from the triumphalism of the contemporary world and illustrates how the nature of revolution changes over both time and place