Social Revolutions in the Modern World

Theda Skocpol

doi:10.1017/CBO9781139173834

In this collection of essays, Theda Skocpol, author of the award-winning book States and Social Revolutions (1979), updates her arguments about social revolutions. How are we to understand recent revolutionary upheavals in countries across the globe? Why have social revolutions happened in some countries, but not in others that seem similar? Skocpol shows how she and other scholars have used ideas about states and societies to identify the particular types of regimes that are susceptible to the growth of revolutionary movements and vulnerable to transfers of state power to revolutionary challengers. Skocpol engages in thoughtful dialogue with critics, and she suggests how culture and ideology can properly be incorporated into historical and comparative studies. She also vigorously defends the value of an institutionalist, comparative and historical approach against recent challenges from Marxists, rational choice theorists, and culturally oriented interpreters of particular revolutions.

‘... provides an extremely useful companion to her thinking ... Skocpol writes with intelligence, grace and lucidity.’

Source: International Affairs

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-vi
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Contents
pp vii-viii
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Acknowledgments
pp ix-x
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INTRODUCTION
pp 1-22
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I - DOING MACROSCOPIC SOCIAL SCIENCE
pp 23-24
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1 - A critical review of Barrington Moore's Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy
pp 25-54
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2 - Wallerstein's world capitalist system: A theoretical and historical critique
pp 55-71
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3 - The uses of comparative history in macrosocial inquiry
pp 72-96
- By Margaret Somers
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II - MAKING SENSE OF THE GREAT REVOLUTIONS
pp 97-98
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4 - Explaining revolutions: In quest of a social-structural approach
pp 99-119
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5 - Revolutions and the world-historical development of capitalism
pp 120-132
- By Ellen Kay Trimberger
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6 - France, Russia, China: A structural analysis of social revolutions
pp 133-166
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III - A DIALOGUE ABOUT CULTURE AND IDEOLOGY IN REVOLUTIONS
pp 167-168
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7 - Ideologies and social revolutions: Reflections on the French case
pp 169-198
- By William H. Sewell Jr.
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8 - Cultural idioms and political ideologies in the revolutionary reconstruction of state power: A rejoinder to Sewell
pp 199-210
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IV - FROM CLASSICAL TO CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL REVOLUTIONS
pp 211-212
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9 - What makes peasants revolutionary?
pp 213-239
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10 - Rentier state and Shi'a Islam in the Iranian Revolution
pp 240-258
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11 - Explaining revolutions in the contemporary Third World
pp 259-278
- By Jeff Goodwin
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12 - Social revolutions and mass military mobilization
pp 279-298
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CONCLUSION
pp 299-300
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Reflections on recent scholarship about social revolutions and how to study them
pp 301-344
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Index
pp 345-354
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Social Revolutions in the Modern World

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-vi

Contents
pp vii-viii

Acknowledgments
pp ix-x

INTRODUCTION
pp 1-22

I - DOING MACROSCOPIC SOCIAL SCIENCE
pp 23-24

1 - A critical review of Barrington Moore's Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy
pp 25-54

2 - Wallerstein's world capitalist system: A theoretical and historical critique
pp 55-71

3 - The uses of comparative history in macrosocial inquiry
pp 72-96

II - MAKING SENSE OF THE GREAT REVOLUTIONS
pp 97-98

4 - Explaining revolutions: In quest of a social-structural approach
pp 99-119

5 - Revolutions and the world-historical development of capitalism
pp 120-132

6 - France, Russia, China: A structural analysis of social revolutions
pp 133-166

III - A DIALOGUE ABOUT CULTURE AND IDEOLOGY IN REVOLUTIONS
pp 167-168

7 - Ideologies and social revolutions: Reflections on the French case
pp 169-198

8 - Cultural idioms and political ideologies in the revolutionary reconstruction of state power: A rejoinder to Sewell
pp 199-210

IV - FROM CLASSICAL TO CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL REVOLUTIONS
pp 211-212

9 - What makes peasants revolutionary?
pp 213-239

10 - Rentier state and Shi'a Islam in the Iranian Revolution
pp 240-258

11 - Explaining revolutions in the contemporary Third World
pp 259-278

12 - Social revolutions and mass military mobilization
pp 279-298

CONCLUSION
pp 299-300

Reflections on recent scholarship about social revolutions and how to study them
pp 301-344

Index
pp 345-354

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Social Revolutions in the Modern World

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