From Dictatorship to Democracy

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).

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