Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis

Diamond identifies 12 factors that he believes are important while facing a national crisis. While he does not order the factors by importance, his case studies demonstrate that some factors are consistently present in the successful resolution of national crises, while others are found in the successful resolution of some crises but not others. In trying to determine the common factors, Diamond seeks to illuminate the nature of successful navigation during national crises. 

Diamond argues that there are seven factors that must be present to resolve a crisis in every scenario he studied. First, there must be an acknowledgment that a crisis exists, such as when Finland recognized the crisis of the Soviet invasion. Second, there must be an acceptance of responsibility for dealing with the crisis, such as when West Germany accepted responsibility for the atrocities it committed during World War II. Third, the nation must undergo an honest self-appraisal, identifying what is not working and what is: When democracy was re-established in Chile, both left- and right-wing politicians recognized that compromise and moderation were necessary. Fourth, all successful cases implemented selective changes, fixing what was preventing them from resolving the crisis but retaining other aspects of their culture.