From Dictatorship to Democracy - by Gene Sharp (Paperback)

About the Book

Twenty-one years ago, at a friend's request, a Massachusetts professor sketched out a blueprint for nonviolent resistance to repressive regimes. It would go on to be translated, photocopied, and handed from one activist to another, traveling from country to country across the globe: from Iran to Venezuela--where "both" countries consider Gene Sharp to be an enemy of the state--to Serbia; Afghanistan; Vietnam; the former Soviet Union; China; Nepal; and, more recently and notably, Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Libya, and Syria, where it has served as a guiding light of the Arab Spring.
This short, pithy, inspiring, and extraordinarily clear guide to overthrowing a dictatorship by nonviolent means lists 198 specific methods to consider, depending on the circumstances: sit-ins, popular nonobedience, selective strikes, withdrawal of bank deposits, revenue refusal, walkouts, silence, and hunger strikes. "From Dictatorship to Democracy" is the remarkable work that has made the little-known Sharp into the world's most effective and sought-after analyst of resistance to authoritarian regimes.

Book Synopsis

"What Sun Tzu and Clausewitz were to war, Sharp. . . was to nonviolent struggle--strategist, philosopher, guru."--The New York Times

The revolutionary word-of-mouth phenomenon, available for the first time as a trade book

Twenty-one years ago, at a friend's request, a Massachusetts professor sketched out a blueprint for nonviolent resistance to repressive regimes. It would go on to be translated, photocopied, and handed from one activist to another, traveling from country to country across the globe: from Iran to Venezuela--where both countries consider Gene Sharp to be an enemy of the state--to Serbia; Afghanistan; Vietnam; the former Soviet Union; China; Nepal; and, more recently and notably, Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Libya, and Syria, where it has served as a guiding light of the Arab Spring.

This short, pithy, inspiring, and extraordinarily clear guide to overthrowing a dictatorship by nonviolent means lists 198 specific methods to consider, depending on the circumstances: sit-ins, popular nonobedience, selective strikes, withdrawal of bank deposits, revenue refusal, walkouts, silence, and hunger strikes. From Dictatorship to Democracy is the remarkable work that has made the little-known Sharp into the world's most effective and sought-after analyst of resistance to authoritarian regimes.

Review Quotes

Praise for From Dictatorship to Democracy:
"Not since Machiavelli has a book had such impact in shifting the balance of power"
--The The Times of London

"Few Americans have heard of Dr. Sharp. But for decades, his practical writings on nonviolent revolution--most notably [his] guide to toppling autocrats--have inspired dissidents around the world, including Burma, Bosnia, Estonia and Zimbabwe, and now Tunisia and Egypt."
--The New York Times

"In June 2007, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez publicly accused Mr. Sharp of stirring unrest in Venezuela. . . . The target of all this intrigue and animosity is eighty years old and slightly stooped. He walks with a cane."
--The Wall Street Journal

"The man who changed the world."
--The Boston Globe

"Hailed as the manual by those who conducted people-power coups in Eastern Europe, its contents were no secret in Iran. . . . Officials saw this summer's unrest as the fruit of his strategies."
--The Christian Science Monitor

Praise for From Dictatorship to Democracy:
"Not since Machiavelli has a book had such impact in shifting the balance of power"
-The The Times of London

"Few Americans have heard of Dr. Sharp. But for decades, his practical writings on nonviolent revolution-most notably [his] guide to toppling autocrats-have inspired dissidents around the world, including Burma, Bosnia, Estonia and Zimbabwe, and now Tunisia and Egypt."
-The New York Times

"In June 2007, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez publicly accused Mr. Sharp of stirring unrest in Venezuela. . . . The target of all this intrigue and animosity is eighty years old and slightly stooped. He walks with a cane."
-The Wall Street Journal

"The man who changed the world."
-The Boston Globe

"Hailed as the manual by those who conducted people-power coups in Eastern Europe, its contents were no secret in Iran. . . . Officials saw this summer's unrest as the fruit of his strategies."
-The Christian Science Monitor

About the Author

Gene Sharp advised governments and resistance movements around the world and was considered the most influential living promoter of nonviolent resistance to autocratic governments. He was a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, and the founder of the Albert Einstein Institution, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the study of nonviolent action. Sharp was the author of From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation (The New Press).