Revolutions Thwarted: Poland, South Africa, Iran, Brazil, and the Legacies of CommunismBy: John Rose

“Inspired by the Marxian idea that the emancipation of the working class must always be the act of the working class itself, John Rose has written a book that is itself a political inspiration. He offers a comparative analysis of four mass workers’ movements in the late twentieth century in Poland, South Africa, Iran and Brazil. Each movement played a major role in toppling authoritarian regimes, but each was ultimately sidelined by other social forces. Rose offers a close and hard-nosed analysis of the reasons for this outcome and an ambitious, comparative overview that is fresh and thought-provoking.”

Steve Smith, author of Red Petrograd and Russia in Revolution: An Empire in Crisis, 1890 to 1928

“John Rose has written a most impressive book on a central question that is of concern to all committed socialists: why does it repeatedly prove so difficult for anti-capitalist mass movements to stick to a revolutionary course and thus successfully bring about the transition to a democratic egalitarian society? Drawing on experiences and insights gained during his long revolutionary-socialist life, interviews with many people involved, and a large body of literature, Rose provides a sophisticated comparative analysis of developments in Poland 1980-81, in Iran 1979, in South Africa in the 1980s, and in Brazil 1989.”

Marcel van der Linden, author of Workers of the World: Essays toward a Global Labor History and Western Marxism and the Soviet Union