Suchergebnisse

This article is an attempt to rescue revolution, both as concept and practice, from the triumphalism of the contemporary world. To that end, the article uses three transformations from authoritarian rule – the end of apartheid in South Africa, the collapse of communism in the Czech Republic and the transition from military dictatorship to market democracy in post-Pinochet Chile – in order to test the ways in which these contemporary manifestations of radical change compare and contrast with past examples of revolution. Although these cases share some core similarities with revolutions of the modern era, they also differ from them in five crucial ways: the particular role played by the 'international' and the state, the nature of violence, the use of ideology, and the process of negotiation itself. As such, they signify a novel process in world politics, that of negotiated revolution.

Over the past twenty years or so, there has been a concerted effort by International Relations (IR) scholars to engage with classical social theory, a tradition that takes in figures such as Max Weber & Karl Marx, C. Wright Mills & Raymond Aron, & more recently, Anthony Giddens & Charles Tilly. Of these comparative macro-sociologists, perhaps the most interesting from an IR perspective is Michael Mann whose oeuvre, now spanning four decades, includes a two-volume history of power in world affairs alongside substantial interventions on debates relating to ethnic cleansing, empire, state-formation & fascism. The interview & forum printed below are, in the first instance, attempts to tease out Mann's most important contributions to social science in general & to IR more specifically. But contributors are also keen to impress upon Mann, & historical sociologists more generally, the need to factor in contemporary advances in both IR theory & practice. As a result, the interview, comment pieces & Mann's reply bear close reading not only for IR specialists, but also for those involved in the wider enterprise of classical social theory itself. Adapted from the source document.