In their pursuit of social justice, revolutionaries have taken on the assembled might of monarchies, empires, and dictatorships. They have often, though not always, sparked cataclysmic violence, and have at times won miraculous victories, though at other times suffered devastating defeat. This very Short Introduction illuminates the revolutionaries, their strategies their successes and failures, and the ways in which revolutions continue to dominate world events and the popular imagination. In this new edition, Jack A. Goldstone sheds light on the major theories of revolution, exploring the causes of revolutionary waves, the role of revolutionary leaders the strategies and processes of revolutionary change, and the intersection between revolutions and shifting patterns of global power.