New Books Network Killian Clarke, "Return of Tyranny: Why Counterrevolutions Emerge and Succeed" (Cambridge UP, 2025)
Nov 21, 2025
Killian Clarke, an academic at Georgetown University, explores the dynamics of counterrevolutions, particularly in Egypt. He shares insights from his book, highlighting why some revolutions succumb to counterrevolution while others endure. Clarke discusses the critical role of elite coalitions and popular support in preventing counterrevolutions. He explains how violent movements can resist but often lead to new autocracies. The conversation emphasizes the importance of foreign support for democratic transitions and outlines future research on protest data and autocracy.
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How Common Counterrevolutions Are
- Clarke defines counterrevolution as the restoration of a political regime that a revolution ousted, not merely efforts to suppress a movement.
- He finds about half of successful revolutions face counterrevolution attempts and roughly 20% see the old regime return.
Research Methods And Fieldwork
- Clarke assembled a global dataset of 123 successful revolutions from 1900–2014 and coded counterrevolutionary challenges case by case.
- He also conducted ~100 elite interviews in Egypt and built an 18-month protest dataset for 2012–2013.
Movement Type Predicts Risk
- Clarke advances a movement-centric theory: type of revolutionary movement predicts counterrevolution risk.
- Moderate, partly violent revolutions create enough threat and leave enough capacity for counterrevolutions to emerge.
