Introduction Revolutions have always been with us throughtout time and always will be. Most of the times, violence is inseperable from them. With time, the concept of revolution has spread over a variety of scientific fields and public discourse, and as a result of the overusage of the term, it is often used incorrectly. Althought the definition of revolution is contested, this essay will work with revolution defined as a sudden, major, and usually violent shift in the governing and related structures. (britannica, n.d.) This seizure of the state is undertaken by the public and not by the elite. Althought there are some peaceful revolutions, most of them are accompanied by violence. Why is that so? According to Thomas Hobbes (1996), conflict and instability are inseparable parts of human nature where there are at least two political entities opposing one another. They exist in a world of anarchy and are subject to the rule and laws of nature which entitle and restrict them in their actions. When they give up their right of nature to do and take what they wish, they will in return achieve security, thus creating a Contract which sets the framework of permissible behaviour. In modern times it means the creation of a state with all the institutions needed to secure that the Contract is observed. If the Contract is not adhered to, conflict and instability are not held in check and are many times followed by violence and revolution. This analytical essay will argue that the reasons for revolutions to be usually violent are the factors which disable the state to contain the conflict under control, leading to instability and to violence itself. Those reasons being: a) the ineffectiveness of state in distributing and sustaining basic pub... ... middle of paper ... ...vement: cycles of protest. In: EL-MAHDI, R. and MARFLEET, P., (eds.). Egypt: The Moment of Change. London, UK: Zed Books, Ltd., pp 87-102 FENBY, J., (2009). The Penguin History of Modern China. Penguin Books Ltd. GLYN, M., (2013) A very brief history of the causes and course of the French Revolution. [Online] Availible from: http://www.historyhome.co.uk/c-eight/france/histfrev.htm [Accessed 02/01/2014] HOBBES, T., (1996). Leviathan. New York: Oxford University Press Inc., New York LARUS, E. F., (2012). Politics & Society in Contemporary China. United States of America: Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc. TADROS, S., (2011) The Story of the Egyptian Revolution. [Online] American Thinker. Availible from: http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/02/the_story_of_the_egyptian_revo.html TROTSKY, L., (2008). History of the Russian Revolution. Canada: Haymarket books. Pp 75-99.
A revolution takes place when a group does not agree with the current government and the policies they have in place. In some cases, revolutions turn violent during the attempt to overthrow the government. This is exactly what took place during the French Revolution, 1789 and the Bolshevik Revolution, 1917. Overall both revolutions found the beginning in the poor. The poor struggled under the rule of the monarchy; there was a strain on resources and high taxes. There were famine and food shortages due to bad weather, and WW1 respectively. In France, the nobility, first and second estates, did not have to pay these high taxes which further angered the poor. Both French and Russian nobility and monarchy were to blame for the suffering experienced. In the French and Bolshevik Revolutions there were philosophical ideas that guided the people to put a stop to their suffering, these ideas fueled extremist groups that brought upon violence and overall the goal of these Revolutions were not permanent. French and Bolshevik Revolutions had revolutionary ideas that went hand in hand with revolutionary violence and ultimately left the countries in chaos for some time after.
By observing the recurring trends throughout history, an individual can conclude that the modern world has evolved through a series of revolutionary eras. Revolutions have occurred since the beginning of mankind and continue to progress into the future. Ranging from a sharp change in political organization or structure, to social divisions within society, all the way to forward-thinking innovations, revolutions have impacted the course of history in numerous ways. Although many revolutions are titled with a specific name to identify the precise location or particular group of people involved, such as the American Revolution or the French Revolution, there are many occurrences in which a revolution is simply identified with a categorization term. However, among all the revolutions that have occurred in known history, there is a specific revolutionary period that has aided in the progress of humanity in addition to establishing the early concepts that shape our modern world. Originating in Great Britain, the Industrial Revolution has transformed the lifestyles of people around the world. However, the progressive transformation introduced a series of outcomes contrary to the prior regime. The Industrial Revolution triggered the growth of Great Britain’s economy, reset the social class divisions, and led to the formation of political reformation.
A revolution, by definition, is the overthrow of one government followed by replacement with another. The American Revolution against the British during 1775 to 1783 and the French Revolution pitting the French people against their own government during 1789 to 1799 were both very important political and social turnovers. This movement towards the establishment of a constitutional government influenced political thought throughout the world. By closely examining three of the main causes of these revolutions, it is clear that although the two revolutions have their differences, the basis of cause for the revolutions have, overall, much stronger similarities.
Throughout history, countless uprisings have occurred. Historians classify any forcible overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new system as a revolution. The success or failure of a revolution is directly related to the revolution’s causes and courses. The French Revolution was more successful than the Nicaraguan Revolution, because the Nicaraguan Revolution left the country in social and financial ruin, foreign powers had much greater interference, and it precipitated a period of political unrest with multiple leadership changes.
The purpose for which government has been instituted, according to Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, is “because the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice, without constraint.” In an effort to constrain men’s passions, nations and revolutionary groups have tried many forms of government. But the institution of a new government necessitates some form of revolution, either violent or peaceful. In many cases, the onset of this revolution begins with the subjugation of a people, often through the process of colonizing a land which is already inhabited.
When the population feels held down by unfair restrictions in society, religion, the economy, or the government they will try to find away to get rid of these limitations to feel equal amongst the community. Sometimes the government only worries on how the outcome will affect them in a situation and do not worry about the people’s need, which frustrates the community so they set up protest and revolts, and sometimes may even attack. In Turkey, Brazil, and Crimea all are struggling through rough times with corrupt governments. In both Crimea and Brazil the political figures are getting arrested on corrupt charges or not doing all the work that needs to be done. When government funds reveal that the money is missing from these funds because some of the cabinet members decided to take the money for their own good, it puts the community to question the
Early 2011 uprisings swept across the Middle East and North Africa, and many rebellions are still going on today. The Arab region has seen revolts and conflict since the 1800‘s, but only recently have these revolts been redirected to the problems of Arab society (Ghannam, J. 2011 pg 4-5)The Arab Spring Uprising was first sparked in Tunisia and eventually struck Algeria, Jordan, Egypt, Yemen and then spread to other countries. Citizens throughout these countries were dissatisfied with the rule of their local governments. Issues like human rights violations, political corruption, economic decline, unemployment, extreme poverty, dictators...
Revolution is a topic at the heart of the Socialist and Marxist Ideology. The processes that bring about the insurrection vary, but for Marx and Engels, the only viable coup d’état is a violent one, that will enable a transition to the best society and human life. In Marxism, revolution is inevitable because of precedents set by developmental historicism and then inequality rampant in society. These negative and traditional attributes give rise to class-consciousness in a manner that promotes the inexorable path of society from capitalism to socialism.
... the society and culture factors. but at the expense of using more measurable quantitative or qualitative factors of more structural, often state-centered approaches. He does not ignore such factors as political, economic and social structures. Nor does he completely ignore ideologies, and the context regarding internationals, or structural studies that have explanatory factors, but he wanted to bring out the importance of the role of agency. He focused on the role of agency by targeting the people and/or societies that attribute to revolutions. The idea that individuals, communities, and cultures, influence the formation and effects of revolutions, rebellions, and resistance, is in obvious contrast to Skocpol, who quotes Wendell Phillips as "quite correct when he once declared: 'Revolutions are not made; they come'"(Skocpol, p.17). If revolutions just “come”, then
Social movements have evolved throughout history to make a new meaning of revolutions. Freedom now and freedom then appear to have different notions of purpose and organization. This paper will examine the difference between contemporary revolutions and classical revolutions through analyzing Charles Kurzman’s new concept of understating and explaining revolutions. Kurzman’s Unthinkable Revolution in Iran provides a chronological outline of the Iranian Revolution, which started in 1977; he focuses on creating an unique explanatory assessment of the organization of street protests in Iran. Explaining the Iranian Revolution, or any revolution, is a challenge that have provoked many sociologists, in his work Kurzman revises the occurrences leading to the fall of the Shah, Muhammad Reza Pahlavi, and concludes that social movements will always be unpredictable and hard to trace back to specific causes.
The Revolutions of 1848 have been described as the “greatest revolution of the century”1. From its mild beginnings in Palermo, Sicily in January 1848, it did not take long to spread across the rest of Europe (Britain and Russia were the only countries not to experience such revolutions). “In 1848 more states on the European continent were overcome by revolution than ever before and ever since”2. The Revolutions became more radical but after June 1848 these revolutionary events began to overlap with those of counterrevolutionary actions, thus enabling the old regimes to return to power. 1848 was described as “a sunny spring of the peoples abruptly interrupted by the winter of the princes”3.
Social Revolutions in the Modern World is a compilation of essays, which updates and expands arguments Skocpol posed years earlier regarding social revolutions in her previous book, States and Social Revolutions. The updated arguments seek to explain how we can better understand recent revolutionary upheavals in countries across the globe and why social revolutions have happened in some countries, but not in others. Throughout the book, Skocpol illustrates how ideas about states and societies can aid in identifying the particular types of regimes that are susceptible to the growth of revolutionary movements as well as those that are vulnerable to seizure of state power by revolutionary aggressors. Skocpol argu...
The major, direct and the most important reason of the Libyan revolution was the improper treatment of people by Muammar Gaddafi. “Most nations were once sympathetic with the Libyan revolution with the international media focusing on the crisis in Libya. Regional and international organizations also ...
Metz, H. C. (1990). Egypt: A Country Study. (Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, Ed.) Retrieved from Country Studies: http://countrystudies.us/egypt/15.htm
In every revolution, there is a goal that each country they are fighting for. First, let’s talk about the Peoples Power Revolution. Filipino people wanted Ferdinand Marcos, former President of the Philippines for almost 20 years to end his dictatorship. What started as a reign of honor later transcended to a reign of horror. What do I mean by that? During his first term as a President of the Philippines, he promised and showed all the hopeful Filipino people to have a prosperous Philippine which he did. However, things started to become messy when he was on his second and third term as a President. He corrupted and putting his own country into big debt. He also declared the Martial law where in the country was under the control of militarist forces, and which the people have no civil rights. Marcos was accused of ordering his troops to shoot his presidency opponent B...