From Dictatorship to Democracy Gene Sharp How do dictorships emerge and what is their nature? What can be done to forestall or destroy dictatorships? These are are major concerns of the author. The researcher did not limit himself to the study of literature. For several years he met with people who lived and suffered under the Nazi rule, including some who survived concentration camps. Knowledge of the terror of Communist rule in various countries has been learned more from books than personal contacts. The terror of these systems appeared to the author to be especially poignant for these dictatorships were imposed in the name of liberation from oppression and exploitation. Out of these concerns and experiences grew a determined hope that prevention of tyranny might be possible, that successful struggles against dictatorships could be waged without mass mutual slaughters, that dictatorships could be destroyed and new ones prevented from rising out of the ashes. The author reflects on the most effective ways in which dictatorships could be successfully disintegrated with the least possible cost in suffering and lives. The analysis should not be interpreted to mean that when a specific dictatorship is ended, all other problems will also disappear. The book suggests methods of non-violent resistance to dictatorships