About this episode

Killian Clarke discusses his book on counterrevolutions and the dynamics of political movements with Marc Lynch.

On this week's episode of the podcast, Killian Clarke of Georgetown University joins Marc Lynch to discuss his new book, Return of Tyranny: Why Counterrevolutions Emerge and Succeed. Clarke explains both why counterrevolutions emerge and when they are likely to succeed. He forwards a movement-centric argument that emphasizes the strategies revolutionary leaders embrace both during their opposition campaigns and after they seize power. Movements that wage violent resistance and espouse radical ideologies establish regimes that are very difficult to overthrow. By contrast, democratic revolutions like Egypt's are more vulnerable, though Clarke also identifies a path by which they too can avoid counterrevolution. By preserving their elite coalitions and broad popular support, these movements can return to mass mobilization to thwart counterrevolutionary threats. In an era of resurgent authoritarianism worldwide, Return of Tyranny sheds light on one particularly violent form of reactionary politics. You can listen to this week’s podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or SoundCloud: Music for this season’s podcast was created by Feras Arrabi. You can find more of his work on…

People in this episode

Host: Marc Lynch

Guest: Killian Clarke

Topics covered

• counterrevolution
• authoritarianism
• democratic revolutions
• political movements
• Middle East politics

Keywords

• counterrevolution
• authoritarianism
• Egypt
• political movements
• revolutionary leaders

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Georgetown University, Institute for Middle East Studies, Carnegie Corporation of New York

Books & works: Return of Tyranny: Why Counterrevolutions Emerge and Succeed

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• West Asia: A New American Grand Strategy in the Middle East (S. 15, Ep. 7) · March 10, 2026 · 40 min
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