Armenia’s Velvet Revolution
Authoritarian Decline and Civil Resistance in a Multipolar World
«In a time when democracies are in decline and authoritarian populism spreads its illiberal shadow from Erdogan’s Turkey to Modi’s India to Trump’s America, a light from Armenia pierces the growing political darkness. Begun as a march on the capital and legitimized in free and fair elections, a non-violent, democratic, civilly disobedient movement took power in Yerevan and carried out a determined cleansing of an arrogant and corrupt power structure. While the evident decay of democracy across the globe speaks to the fragility of liberalism, this excellent volume demonstrates that authoritarian regimes have deep-seated weaknesses that can undermine the dominion of venal elites and unleash aspiring democratic forces. The post-Soviet Armenian state, alone in a dangerous neighborhood, at war with one neighbor and threatened by another, substituted security for freedom. Yet a courageous and resistant civil society never fully succumbed to the usurpation of the promise of progress. As the authors within and outside Armenia eloquently elaborate in this collection, non-violent resistance can lead effectively toward a democratic outcome»
Ronald Grigor Suny, WILLIAM H. SEWELL JR. DISTINGUISHED UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR OF HISTORY
In April 2018, Armenia experienced a remarkable popular uprising leading to the resignation of Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan and his replacement by protest leader Nikol Pashinyan. Evoking Czechoslovakia’s similarly peaceful overthrow of communism 30 years previously, the uprising came to be known as Armenia’s ‘Velvet Revolution’: a broad-based movement calling for clean government, democracy and economic reform. Les mer
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In April 2018, Armenia experienced a remarkable popular uprising leading to the resignation of Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan and his replacement by protest leader Nikol Pashinyan. Evoking Czechoslovakia’s similarly peaceful overthrow of communism 30 years previously, the uprising came to be known as Armenia’s ‘Velvet Revolution’: a broad-based movement calling for clean government, democracy and economic reform.
This volume examines how a popular protest movement, showcasing civil disobedience as a mass strategy for the first time in the post-Soviet space, overcame these unpromising circumstances. Situating the events in Armenia in their national, regional and global contexts, different contributions evaluate the causes driving Armenia’s unexpected democratic turn, the reasons for regime vulnerability and the factors mediating a non-violent outcome. Drawing on comparative perspectives with democratic transitions across the world, this book will be essential reading for those interested in the regime dynamics, social movements and contested politics of contemporary Eurasia, as well as policy-makers and practitioners in the fields of democracy assistance and human rights in an increasingly multipolar world.
This volume examines how a popular protest movement, showcasing civil disobedience as a mass strategy for the first time in the post-Soviet space, overcame these unpromising circumstances. Situating the events in Armenia in their national, regional and global contexts, different contributions evaluate the causes driving Armenia’s unexpected democratic turn, the reasons for regime vulnerability and the factors mediating a non-violent outcome. Drawing on comparative perspectives with democratic transitions across the world, this book will be essential reading for those interested in the regime dynamics, social movements and contested politics of contemporary Eurasia, as well as policy-makers and practitioners in the fields of democracy assistance and human rights in an increasingly multipolar world.
Detaljer
- Forlag
- I.B. Tauris
- Innbinding
- Innbundet
- Språk
- Engelsk
- Sider
- 288
- ISBN
- 9781788317184
- Utgivelsesår
- 2020
- Format
- 22 x 14 cm
Anmeldelser
«In a time when democracies are in decline and authoritarian populism spreads its illiberal shadow from Erdogan’s Turkey to Modi’s India to Trump’s America, a light from Armenia pierces the growing political darkness. Begun as a march on the capital and legitimized in free and fair elections, a non-violent, democratic, civilly disobedient movement took power in Yerevan and carried out a determined cleansing of an arrogant and corrupt power structure. While the evident decay of democracy across the globe speaks to the fragility of liberalism, this excellent volume demonstrates that authoritarian regimes have deep-seated weaknesses that can undermine the dominion of venal elites and unleash aspiring democratic forces. The post-Soviet Armenian state, alone in a dangerous neighborhood, at war with one neighbor and threatened by another, substituted security for freedom. Yet a courageous and resistant civil society never fully succumbed to the usurpation of the promise of progress. As the authors within and outside Armenia eloquently elaborate in this collection, non-violent resistance can lead effectively toward a democratic outcome»
Ronald Grigor Suny, WILLIAM H. SEWELL JR. DISTINGUISHED UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR OF HISTORY
«This is the definitive history of Armenia’s Velvet Revolution. The volume provides context, analysis, and nuance regarding Armenia’s impressive show of people power in 2018, and prospects for longer-term transformation. Kudos to the editors and authors of this masterful collection.»
Erica Chenoweth, Harvard University, USA