Fareed Zakaria, Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2024).
Reviewed by Saba Abbasi
In an age where societies seem trapped in a perpetual cycle of progress and resistance, Fareed Zakaria’s Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present offers an insightful exploration of why the world feels simultaneously on the brink of breakthrough and breakdown. Zakaria contends that history unfolds in intervals of revolutions and that human progress is never linear, but rather shaped by a recurring pattern of upheaval, adaptation, and resistance. By drawing historical parallels, Zakaria frames today’s ideological divides and political turbulence as the latest manifestation of a long-term dynamic.
The book analyses the social, political, economic, and technological revolutions that have shaped the modern world since the 1600s. It presents a comparative analysis of ancient and modern revolutions, delving into their triggers and the societal resistances that follow. Zakaria maintains that structural triggers often lead to revolutions, which subsequently provoke societal backlash. The disruption caused by political, technological, or identity upheavals fuels human progression, but not without significant consequences.
The author argues that the present era is witnessing the erosion of conventional political norms due to the confluence of disruptive forces. The unraveling of old traditions is fostering a new ideological divide that extends beyond the traditional left-right dichotomy. Zakaria identifies a modern fault line between open and closed societies, where one side embraces globalisation, diversity, and technology, and the other one inclines towards protectionism and nationalism. Through the lens of past revolutions, Zakaria seeks to illuminate how political struggles today signal the onset of a revolutionary age.
Zakaria divides the book into two interconnected parts: historical revolutions (1600 to the 1900s) and contemporary revolutions (1900s to the present). He employs a case study approach, contextualising each revolution within its broader political, economic, and social dynamics.
In the first part, Zakaria explores revolutions beginning with the first liberal revolution in the Netherlands, then moves to the Glorious Revolution in England, highlighting how republicanism and parliamentary supremacy took root. He contrasts these with the French Revolution, which he terms a failure due to the chaos and autocracy it unleashed. The later chapters detail the industrial revolutions of Britain and America, which Zakaria describes as the most transformative episodes in human history, redefining power structures through economic rather than political means.
The second half focuses on present-day revolutions, mapping the profound changes brought by economic globalisation, technological advancements, identity politics, and shifting geopolitics. Zakaria identifies how global trade made prosperity more attainable than conquest and how digital domains, especially Artificial Intelligence, have redefined human engagement. He questions the very relevance of human analytical capability when machines can outperform cognitive tasks. The chapter on “Revenge of the Tribes” reflects on the resurgence of identity politics in an interconnected world, while the final chapters explore the breakdown of unipolarity, with China and Russia’s rise reshaping the geopolitical order.
Zakaria’s comprehensible style, thematic clarity, and broad historical sweep keep the reader hooked till the end. His approach is similar to Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens, condensing expansive historical processes into readable narratives. Zakaria’s optimism is evident, though he repeatedly warns against ignoring the societal costs of rapid transformation.
However, while Zakaria successfully identifies the cyclical nature of revolutions, some analytical gaps warrant reflection. The book is largely Western in focus, raising the question of whether Zakaria over-emphasises the Western origin of transformative change. Movements like the anti-colonial struggles, post-independence revolutions, and socio-political upheavals in the Global South receive minimal attention, making the framework less globally applicable.
Another area that remains underexplored in the book is Zakaria’s interpretation of identity politics that appears to be closely linked to the disruptions of globalisation only. While he rightly identifies backlash against liberal globalisation, his treatment at times understates the deeper historical grievances that fuel identity movements. For societies with a history of colonisation, identity politics could be a struggle for justice, not merely a reactionary backlash.
The most intriguing contradiction lies between Zakaria’s optimism and the overwhelming evidence and patterns of backlash he describes. This unresolved tension leaves readers questioning whether the optimistic conclusion fully aligns with the weight of evidence presented.
Despite these limitations, Zakaria offers a compelling narrative on the forces reshaping the world. His exploration of the open versus closed society debate resonates in an age marked by polarisation. Yet, for readers outside the Western world, the book serves more as a foundation and a predecessor that points towards the need for a broader and more inclusive analysis of revolutionary change.
Saba Abbasi is a Research Assistant at the Centre for Aerospace & Security Studies (CASS), Islamabad. She can be reached at [email protected].
