Egypt's failed revolution in 2011 sets the stage for this book. After an uprising swept away the repressive regime, citizens watched power reconsolidate in the hands of the military. Clarke documents over 100 counterrevolutions since 1900, asking why they occur and when they succeed. The book advances a ‘movement-centric’ approach, arguing that understanding why a counterrevolutionary challenge occurs lies in how the original revolutionary movement was organized, what tactics it used, and what outside support it enjoyed. This approach builds on research comparing the success and long-term fate of nonviolent and violent resistance. From one perspective, this is a story of how certain new regimes fail to prevent counterrevolution. Clarke argues that moderate-unarmed revolutions, brought about through mass nonviolent resistance, are ill-suited to ward off former regime elements: they lack coercive capacity, tend toward fractured support bases, and typically lack external backing. Radical-violent revolutions, by contrast, often come to power with loyal militias, a vanguard party, and outside support. This is paired with the argument that toppled elites pursue counterrevolution when they have both the capacity and interest to do so. The most powerful evidence comes from his analysis of post-revolution Egypt, where Clarke traces the new regime's attempt to govern with a deteriorating coalition and highlights the shift of everyday citizens toward anti-regime sentiment. The key failure of Morsi's short-lived regime was its inability to read public sentiment and maintain coalition support. Clarke also examines global trends, finding support for the role of coercive capacity and foreign sponsors in helping new regimes survive. In all, this book offers a novel contribution to understanding counterrevolution and raises important questions about how revolutionary pathways shape later success or failure.