From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation is a serious introduction to the use of nonviolent action to topple dictatorships. Originally published in 1993 in Thailand for distribution among Burmese dissidents, this booklet has since been translated into seventeen different languages and spread worldwide. This is the third US edition

Contents: FROM CHAPTER 1...

In recent years various dictatorships — of both internal and external origin — have collapsed or stumbled when confronted by defiant, mobilized people. Often seen as firmly entrenched and impregnable, some of these dictatorships proved unable to withstand the concerted political, economic, and social defiance of the people.

Since 1980 dictatorships have collapsed before the predominantly nonviolent defiance of people in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia and Slovenia, Madagascar, Mali, Bolivia, and the Philippines. Nonviolent resistance has furthered the movement toward democratization in Nepal, Zambia, South Korea, Chile, Argentina, Haiti, Brazil, Uruguay, Malawi, Thailand, Bulgaria, Hungary, Zaire, Nigeria, and various parts of the former Soviet Union (playing a significant role in the defeat of the August 1991 attempted hard-line coup d’état).

In addition, mass political defiance has occurred in China, Burma, and Tibet in recent years. Although those struggles have not brought an end to the ruling dictatorships or occupations, they have exposed the brutal nature of those repressive regimes to the world community and have provided the populations with valuable experience with this form of struggle.

The collapse of dictatorships in the above named countries certainly has not erased all other problems in those societies: poverty, crime, bureaucratic inefficiency, and environmental destruction are often the legacy of brutal regimes. However, the downfall of these dictatorships has minimally lifted much of the suffering of the victims of oppression, and has opened the way for the rebuilding of these societies with greater political democracy, personal liberties, and social justice. [....]

Download From Dictatorship to Democracy by Gene Sharp

Free eBook, PDF format, 167KB, 85Pages. Provided by The Albert Einstein Institution

Author: Gene Sharp

ISBN: 1-880813-09-2

Published: 1993, May 2002, June 2003

Languages available: Arabic, Azeri, Belarusian, Burmese, Chin  (Burma), Jing-paw  (Burma), Karen  (Burma), Mon  (Burma), Chinese (Simplified Mandarin) , Chinese  (Traditional Mandarin) , English, Farsi, Indonesian, Khmer (Cambodia), Kyrgyz, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Ukrainian, Tibetan, Tigrigna, Vietnamese

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Gene Sharp, D. Phil. (Oxon.), is Senior Scholar at the Albert Einstein Institution in Boston, Massachusetts. He holds a B.A. and an M.A. from Ohio State University and a D. Phil. in political theory from Oxford University.

He has also been awarded honorary degrees of Doctor of Laws from Manhattan College and Doctor of Humanitarian Service from Rivier College. Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, he has also taught at the University of Oslo, the University of Massachusetts at Boston, and for nearly thirty years held a research appointment at Harvard University's Center for International Affairs.

His books in English include The Politics of Nonviolent Action (1973), Gandhi as a Political Strategist (1979), Social Power and Political Freedom (1980), Making Europe Unconquerable (1985), and Civilian-Based Defense: A Post-Military Weapons System (1990).

A new major book is now in preparation (2003) Waging Nonviolent Struggle: Twentieth Century Practice and Twenty-First Century Potential. His writings have appeared in more than thirty languages.

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WELCOME TO THE ALBERT EINSTEIN INSTITUTION

The Albert Einstein Institution is a nonprofit organization advancing the study and use of strategic nonviolent action in conflicts throughout the world.

We are committed to the defense of freedom, democracy, and the reduction of political violence through the use of nonviolent action.

Our goals are to understand the dynamics of nonviolent action in conflicts, to explore its policy potential, and to communicate this through print and other media, translations, conferences, consultations, and workshops.

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