Reform and Rebellion in Weak States

Paperback / softback

Main Details

Title Reform and Rebellion in Weak States
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Evgeny Finkel
By (author) Scott Gehlbach
SeriesElements in Political Economy
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback / softback
Pages:75
Dimensions(mm): Height 227,Width 153
Category/GenreRevolutions, uprisings and rebellions
Political economy
ISBN/Barcode 9781108796477
ClassificationsDewey:320.1
Audience
Professional & Vocational
Illustrations Worked examples or Exercises; 9 Line drawings, black and white

Publishing Details

Publisher Cambridge University Press
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publication Date 11 June 2020
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

Throughout history, reform has provoked rebellion - not just by the losers from reform, but also among its intended beneficiaries. Finkel and Gehlbach emphasize that, especially in weak states, reform often must be implemented by local actors with a stake in the status quo. In this setting, the promise of reform represents an implicit contract against which subsequent implementation is measured: when implementation falls short of this promise, citizens are aggrieved and more likely to rebel. Finkel and Gehlbach explore this argument in the context of Russia's emancipation of the serfs in 1861 - a fundamental reform of Russian state and society that paradoxically encouraged unrest among the peasants who were its prime beneficiaries. They further examine the empirical reach of their theory through narrative analyses of the Tanzimat reforms of the nineteenth-century Ottoman Empire, land reform in ancient Rome, the abolition of feudalism during the French Revolution, and land reform in contemporary Latin America.