Revolution: Structure and Meaning in World History - Hardcover

Arjomand, Saïd Amir

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0226026833 ISBN 13: 9780226026831

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 2019

Synopsis

A revolution is a discontinuity: one political order replaces another, typically through whatever violent means are available. Modern theories of revolutions tend neatly to bracket the French Revolution of 1789 with the fall of the Soviet Union two hundred years later, but contemporary global uprisings—with their truly multivalent causes and consequences—can overwhelm our ability to make sense of them.

In this authoritative new book, Saïd Amir Arjomand reaches back to antiquity to propose a unified theory of revolution. Revolution illuminates the stories of premodern rebellions from the ancient world, as well as medieval European revolts and more recent events, up to the Arab Spring of 2011. Arjomand categorizes revolutions in two groups: ones that expand the existing body politic and power structure, and ones that aim to erode—but paradoxically augment—their authority. The revolutions of the past, he tells us, can shed light on the causes of those of the present and future: as long as centralized states remain powerful, there will be room for greater, and perhaps forceful, integration of the politically disenfranchised.
 

About this title

About the Author

Saïd Amir Arjomand is distinguished service professor of sociology at Stony Brook University and the author of The Shadow of God and the Hidden Imam, also published by the University of Chicago Press.

Review

“Highly recommended. . . In his erudite contribution to the topic, Arjomand breaks with the prevailing view by seeking the origins of the structure and meaning of political revolution in a deeper history.” (Choice)

“Revolution is a landmark study of global, comparative, and transnational historical sociology. Arjomand examines a series of ancient and early modern revolutions in Asia and Europe, arguing that these revolutions emerged from processes of imitation and conquest and that they enhanced social integration and strengthened states. Revolution reconnects the history of Europe, Islam, and the Far East. It should interest all students of politics, states, empires, and revolutions.” (George Steinmetz author of The Devil’s Handwriting)

“It is a rare treat to find a book so ambitious in its aims. Arjomand’s scholarship is deep, his writing clear, and his analysis insightful. This bold, fascinating book is highly recommended to all scholars and students of revolution.” (George Lawson author of Negotiated Revolutions)

“Arjomand is a sociologist’s sociologist. He has mastered a vast range of historical knowledge and is able to journey across world history, from the Akkadians through the Greeks and Romans, on to Sasanian and Caliphal history, and eventually to medieval Europe and the Mongols. The yield is a most fruitful typology of revolution combining the highest grades of sociological theory and historical interpretation. Revolution is comparative historical sociology in the grand style.” (Aziz Al-Azmeh author of The Emergence of Islam in Late Antiquity)

“A masterful synthesis of knowledge about revolutions in the ancient and medieval world. Written by one of the world’s leading scholars on the Iranian revolution, this book offers a wealth of insights on revolutions that do not rely on the modern revolutionary myth.” (Hans Joas, Humboldt University of Berlin)

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 0226026833
• ISBN 13: 9780226026831
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 400