Abstract
Abstract
The aim of this chapter is to explain why each of the types of terror occurred when they did in each of the revolutions. The means of doing this is to undertake a detailed analysis of each revolution, showing why the terror broke out. This builds on the explanation of what happened outlined in Chapters 2–4, explaining why that happened. The conclusion is that revolutionary terror and transformational terror both grew out of the revolutionary process itself—the need to consolidate power once seized and to transform the society—while inverted terror was largely a result of the human agency of Robespierre, Stalin, and Mao. The chapter also suggests possible linkages between the revolutionary seizure of power and inverted terror, but argues these needed that human agency to function.
Publisher
Oxford University PressOxford
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