Contention and
Democracy in Europe, 1650-2000 analyzes relationships
between democratization, de-democratization, and contentious politics.
Building on recent theoretical innovations, Contention and Democracy
uses a sustained comparison of French and British histories since 1650 as
a springboard for more general companies across Europe. It goes on to
demonstrate that democratization occurred as a result of struggle during
which (as in 19th century Britain and France) few, if any, of the
participants were self-consciously trying to create democratic institutions.
Favorable circumstances for democratization, it shows, vary fro era to era
and region to region as functions of previous history, international
environments, available models of political organization, and predominant
patterns of social relations. Many reversals - substantial phases of
de-democratization - occurred in the European experiences surveyed.
Charles Tilly is Joseph L. Buttenweiser
Professor of Social Science at Columbia University. He has previously
taught at the University of Delaware, Harvard University, The University of
Toronto the University of Michigan and the New School for Social Research.
He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,
and the American Philosophical Society. Among his many books are three
recently published by Cambridge University Press: Dynamics of Contention (with
Doug McAdam and Sidney Tarrow),
Silence and Voice in the Study of Contentious Politics (with Ronald Aminzade and others), and The Politics of Collective
Violence.
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