Revolution and Dictatorship

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This work examines the remarkable durability of dictatorships that arise from social revolutions in countries like China, Cuba, Iran, the Soviet Union, and Vietnam, even amid economic crises, policy failures, and widespread discontent. Through comparative historical analysis, the authors argue that radical transformations provoke intense counterrevolutionary conflicts, initially threatening regime survival but ultimately fostering unity and state-building that bolster authoritarianism. While most revolutionary governments start weak, they confront powerful domestic and foreign adversaries, often leading to civil or external wars. Such conflicts can endanger new regimes, as seen in Afghanistan and Cambodia. However, for those that endure, prolonged strife cultivates a cohesive ruling elite and a loyal coercive apparatus, dismantling rival organizations and alternative power centers like armies, churches, monarchies, and landowners. This process helps shield revolutionary regimes from elite defection, military coups, and mass protests—key factors in authoritarian collapse. By analyzing a variety of revolutionary and non-revolutionary regimes worldwide, the authors illustrate why governments emerging from violent conflict tend to persist over time.