Revolutions, Revolts and Protest Movements: Focusing on Violence and Transnational Action

Abstract

Revolutions, revolts and protest movements are viewed in the study of politics as belonging together because they take place outside political institutions and, through collective action, involve mobilisation against established practices and the values lying behind them. As the wide variety of cases covered in the four books reviewed show, however, the differences between these revolutionary and protest actions are also striking. These books show that, if carefully chosen, a great deal can be learned from the detailed study of cases about protest movements mobilising both within and across borders and that it furthers our understanding of social movements. Highly valuable lessons on the role of violence in politics are also learned from the studies of revolts and revolutions. Looked at critically, however, the books show that the differences between violence and terror should not be overlooked and that important factors such as ideology can be missed.