ENGLISH

Reform and Rebellion in Weak States

Book information

Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Year
2020
ISBN
1108848540, 1108855113, 1108796478, 9781108848541, 9781108855112, 9781108796477
DOI
10.1017/9781108855112
Open Library ID
OL34752903M
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
2 MB (2044390 bytes)
Series
Cambridge Elements in Political Economy
Edition
1
Pages
82\82
Orientation
portrait
Paginated
yes
Scanned
no
Time added
2024-11-14 21:17:41

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.

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