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Reposted by Killian Clarke

Cambridge University Press Political Science & IR @cambup-polsci.cambridge.org · 07/09/2026

Congratulations to Killian Clarke, co-winner of the Best Book Award (Democracy & Autocracy section) for Return of Tyranny. cup.org/4xbKunp #APSAPrizes #AcademicExcellence #PolSky

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Killian Clarke @kbclarke.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

I’m excited to be holding an author-meets-critic roundtable on my book at @apsa.bsky.social this year, with a stellar lineup of discussants: Jack Goldstone, Tomila Lankina, @lisablaydes.bsky.social, and @pstaniland.bsky.social. Please join us on Saturday 9/5 at 2pm!

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Reposted by Killian Clarke

Anne Meng @annemeng.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

🚨 New in @apsrjournal.bsky.social! 🚨How do the origins of authoritarian regimes shape their subsequent trajectories? @kbclarke.bsky.social @jackpaine.bsky.social and I are excited to share "Rebel Victory and Authoritarian (Dis)Order" /1

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Reposted by Killian Clarke

LSE Middle East Centre @lsemiddleeast.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

In March, we hosted a book launch for @kbclarke.bsky.social's 'Return of Tyranny', a global study of counterrevolutions since 1900 that offers new evidence on how Egypt’s 2011 revolution was reversed. 🎧 Listen to the event recording: soundcloud.com/lsemiddleeas...

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Killian Clarke @kbclarke.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Loved presenting my book at City College and @thegraduatecenter.bsky.social yesterday. Thank you to @dbgreenwald.bsky.social for arranging the talks, to MEMEAC for hosting, and to @jillianschwedler.bsky.social and Guillermo Sardi Garcia for excellent discussant comments

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Killian Clarke @kbclarke.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

Really looking forward to talking about my book, Return of Tyranny, on March 3 at LSE’s @lsemiddleeast.bsky.social. If you are in London, please come! Details 👇

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Killian Clarke @kbclarke.bsky.social · 14/02/2026

Had a great conversation with @edinur.bsky.social on @apublicaffair.bsky.social about my book…and many other things! We talked about global democratic backsliding, the strengths and weaknesses of today’s social movements, and forms of tyranny past and present. Thanks for having me!

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Killian Clarke @kbclarke.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

🚨🚨 Junior scholars working on Middle East politics (broadly defined): Have your advisers / mentors nominate your dissertation for the 2026 @apsamena.bsky.social best dissertation award! Senior scholars: please nominate your students! Deadline is Sunday, Feb 1

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Killian Clarke @kbclarke.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

What a treat to be featured on one of my favorite podcasts. I had a great conversation with @abuaardvark.bsky.social about my new book. Thank you @pomeps.bsky.social for hosting me and for continuing to promote new MENA political science research

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Reposted by Killian Clarke

Stanford CDDRL @stanfordcddrl.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

Democratic revolutions can be powerful — and fragile. Georgetown School of Foreign Service assistant professor Killian Clarke joined CDDRL to discuss why counterrevolutions emerge even after successful uprisings. ow.ly/uj8c50XEnhu

ow.ly

The Fragility of Democratic Revolutions: Why Counterrevolutions Emerge and

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Killian Clarke @kbclarke.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

I was pleased to talk about Return of Tyranny recently on the @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social. Very insightful questions from Miranda Melcher -- we covered a lot! The full episode is available here: newbooksnetwork.com/return-of-ty...

newbooksnetwork.com

Killian Clarke, "Return of Tyranny: Why Counterrevolutions Emerge and Succeed" (Cambridge UP, 2025) - New Books Network

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Reposted by Killian Clarke

Mortara Center for International Studies, Georgetown University @mortaracenter.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

Last Thursday, we hosted the launch of SFS Assistant Professor Killian Clarke's new book, Return of Tyranny: Why Counterrevolutions Emerge and Succeed. Congratulations to Professor @kbclarke.bsky.social on this great accomplishment!

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Reposted by Killian Clarke

Crown Center for Middle East Studies @mes-crown.bsky.social · 03/11/2025

20 years after Saddam Hussein’s fall, what can upcoming elections tell us about the future of #Iraq’s democracy? Read our latest Crown Conversation by Killian Clarke, Candace Lukasik, & Kerem Uşşaklı: www.brandeis.edu/crown/public... | @kbclarke.bsky.social @clukasik.bsky.social

brandeis.edu

A Thousand Saddams: The Fate of Iraq’s Democracy

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Killian Clarke @kbclarke.bsky.social · 01/11/2025

Thank you @pauliinapatana.bsky.social for the photo, the shout-out, and the kind words!

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Killian Clarke @kbclarke.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

Officially published today!! There will be a book launch at Georgetown in a week (now also with a virtual option for those not in DC). More details below 👇 and register here: tinyurl.com/2fdxwmv2

tinyurl.com

Book Launch: Return of Tyranny

Join us at the Mortara Center for the launch of Return of Tyranny: Why Counterrevolutions Emerge and Succeed, by Professor Killian Clarke. Thi...

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Killian Clarke @kbclarke.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

I received so much support in writing this book (the acknowledgments are long!), from colleagues, friends, and mentors at @princetonpolitics.bsky.social , @georgetown-sfs.bsky.social , @weatherheadcenter.bsky.social, @mes-crown.bsky.social and many other institutions. I can’t wait to pay it forward

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Killian Clarke @kbclarke.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

If this has piqued your interest, you can preorder the book from CUP’s website: tinyurl.com/ymz2etc4. Use offer code REOTY2025 for 20% off! If you want to learn more about the book, check out the website: www.killianclarke.com/book

killianclarke.com

Killian Clarke – Return of Tyranny: Why Counterrevolutions Emerge and Succeed

Book website for Return of Tyranny: Why Counterrevolutions Emerge and Succeed by Killian Clarke

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Killian Clarke @kbclarke.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

The book also speaks to our current authoritarian moment. Like other brands of reactionary politics, counterrevolution has been on the rise in recent years (following decades of decline). The book explains why, and connects these trends to broader global dynamics of democratic backsliding

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Killian Clarke @kbclarke.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

But if they prioritize old regime appeasement, their coalitions may collapse and they may be overwhelmed by social unrest – which opens a path for counterrevolutionaries to return. Check out, for example, unrest in Egypt in the year and a half before the coup (these are weekly protest counts):

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Killian Clarke @kbclarke.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

The key here is how revolutionaries decide to govern. If they double down on their coalitions and mass base, rather than cozying up to soldiers and cronies from the former regime, they can maintain their revolutionary leverage and keep counterrevolution at bay

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Killian Clarke @kbclarke.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

But even unarmed, democratic revolutions – like Egypt’s – often fare pretty well against counterrevolutions. More than two-thirds of them manage to survive

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Killian Clarke @kbclarke.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

Counterrevolutions almost never succeed following violent revolutions (e.g., the Cuban revolution, the Chinese revolution) – the armies built up during guerilla struggle defend these governments from old regime forces. This is something I have written about elsewhere, as well: tinyurl.com/mrypbrx2

tinyurl.com

Revolutionary Violence and Counterrevolution | American Political Science Review | Cambridge Core

Revolutionary Violence and Counterrevolution - Volume 117 Issue 4

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Killian Clarke @kbclarke.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

In the aftermath of Egypt’s coup – and the broader failures of the 2011 Arab revolutions – a lot of people have argued that this outcome was unavoidable. But actually, the data I collected reveal that over 80% of revolutionary governments either avoid or survive counterrevolutions

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Killian Clarke @kbclarke.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

The book explains why some revolutions are reversed by counterrevolutions, whereas others establish lasting rule. It’s one of the first books on counterrevolution – and grew out of my work on Egypt's 2013 counterrevolutionary coup, which tragically rolled back the 2011 revolution

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Killian Clarke @kbclarke.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

There's a book launch at Georgetown on October 30, hosted by @mortaracenter.bsky.social and with my fantastic colleague @laiabalcells.bsky.social as discussant. If you’re in the DC area, please consider joining!

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Killian Clarke @kbclarke.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

🚨🚨 I’m thrilled to share that my book, Return of Tyranny: Why Counterrevolutions Emerge and Succeed, will be published this month with @cambup-polsci.cambridge.org in their Comparative Politics Series

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Killian Clarke @kbclarke.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

Thanks to the @mes-crown.bsky.social for inviting me to write this piece about how oil wealth has empowered Saudi Arabia and the UAE to be the main spoilers of democratic change in the Middle East since 2011

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Killian Clarke @kbclarke.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

Cool-looking new paper from @annemeng.bsky.social and @anthlittle.bsky.social. If it’s anything like their past work, it’s sure to be 🔥

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Killian Clarke @kbclarke.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

Pleased to see research I’ve been working on with @annemeng.bsky.social and @jackpaine.bsky.social on rebel regimes featured in the @nytimes.com Interpreter column this week. The piece does a nice job summarizing our paper’s implications for the challenges that may be ahead in #Syria. Link 👇

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Reposted by Killian Clarke

Sho Walker-Konno @shokon.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

Its become unfashionable/naive to say it, but democracy is still the 'least worst' way of protecting a revolution. A very timely study from @kbclarke.bsky.social @annemeng.bsky.social @jackpaine.bsky.social analyses 84 times a regime has been overthrown since 1900... osf.io/preprints/os...

$Violent Origins and Authoritarian Order: Divergent Trajectories after Successful Rebellions. Abstract Existing research demonstrates that many authoritarian regimes originating in violent rebellion are exceptionally durable. By contrast, conflict scholarship emphasizes the difficulty of reestablishing order after civil war. Using original data on every regime founded by successful rebellion worldwide from 1900–2020, we demonstrate that rebel regimes follow divergent trajectories: the vast majority are either long-lived (20+ years) or short-lived (less than 5 years). The structure of the founding rebellion explains these divergent trajectories by shaping power- sharing dynamics in the new regime and the nature of conflict recurrence. Regimes founded by unified rebellions (single rebel group) become highly durable autocracies because members credibly share power within the same rebel group. By contrast, regimes founded by fractured rebellions (multiple rebel groups) are usually short-lived. Leaders must attempt to share power across armed rivals, many of whom defect and stage subsequent rebellions. Other rebellion characteristics, like social revolution and leftist ideology, cannot explain these differences.$

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