Revolution and Political
Violence
Frank H. Brooks
March 12, 2016
Comparative Politics
1
Revolution: What, When,
Why, How
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What
– defining revolution
– distinguishing it from other kinds of sociopolitical change
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When
– historical necessity?
– possible only at certain stages of development?
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Why
– Causes of revolution
– Necessary v. sufficient
– Successful v. attempted
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How
– Determinants of success
– Also consider who (role of elites, masses)
March 12, 2016
Comparative Politics
2
Etymology of “Revolution”
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Scientific uses carried over into politics
– Heavenly bodies “revolve”
– Cyclical view of history
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Dramatic break or change
– Linked to progressive view of history
– C. 17th and 18th centuries in Europe
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Modern usage
– Break in continuity; sudden, decisive change
– Not just used in politics
March 12, 2016
Comparative Politics
3
Revolution in a Taxonomy
of Political Change
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Distinguishing revolution from other kinds of radical
political change
Rebellion v. revolution
Taxonomy of “internal wars”
–
–
–
–
Jacquerie – mass peasant uprising
Millenarian – social movement infused with utopia
Conspiratorial coup d’etat – no mass participation
Militarized mass insurrection – guerrilla war mobilizes
mass consciousness
– Jacobin-Communist revolution – sweeping social change
led by vanguard
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Comparative Politics
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Defining Revolution I
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Focus on what is changed
Change in government or personnel
– Can be accomplished by election or coup
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Change in governmental form (regime)
– E.g. shift from monarchy to republic
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Change in society
– Can include economy, but also culture, religion,
family
– The “social question”

Classic “social revolution” includes all three
March 12, 2016
Comparative Politics
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Defining Revolution II
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Focus on peculiar characteristics of
revolutionary process (Eisenstadt)
Radical transformation of the rules of the
political game
Novel visions of the political and social order
– Tend to be utopian and universalistic
– Political programs revolve around new
“cosmologies”
– Also involves novel overall cultural agendas
March 12, 2016
Comparative Politics
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Which “revolutions”
count?
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Classifying events usually discussed as revolutions
England (1640s) - yes
America in 1770s-1780s – no
France in 1780s-1790s – yes
Mexico (1910-40) – yes
China (1910-49) – yes
Russia (1917) – February no, October yes
Cuba (1959) - yes
Iran (1979) – yes
Eastern Europe (1989) – debatable
March 12, 2016
Comparative Politics
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Are Revolutions
Necessarily Violent?
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Many definitions refer to violent overthrow of
established regime
Violence not peculiar to revolution
“legitimate” v. “illegitimate” violence
– Government’s use of violence legitimate
– Revolutionaries’ isn’t (yet)

Can a revolution be accomplished “nonviolently”?
– Poland and Solidarity?
– Philippines and “people power”?
– Revolutions? Or, simply overthrowing tyrants?
March 12, 2016
Comparative Politics
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When do Revolutions
Happen?
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Theoretical assumptions
– Linked to progressive view of history
– Especially, modernization theory

Most likely during early stages of modernization
– Linked to “crisis” of legitimacy
– Breakdown of old regime is necessary condition
– Not sufficient – non-revolutionary resolutions of crisis possible, as are
repressive responses
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Marxist theory
– Political shift corresponding to change in forces and relations of
production
– French Revolution premature as socialist revolution

Rephrase question: when are revolutions possible?
– Consider earlier revolutions as models, inspiration
– Can societies be “past” the revolutionary stage?
– Does this mean an “end of history”?
March 12, 2016
Comparative Politics
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Why do Revolutions
Occur?
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Focus on causal theories
– why do revolutions happen when and where
they do?
– Why do they succeed?
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Social Psychology
Marxism
Functionalism
Comparative History
Skocpol’s States and Social Revolutions
March 12, 2016
Comparative Politics
10
Social-Psychological
Theories of Revolution
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Focus on attitudes leading to revolutionary
action
– Mostly economic
– Psychological preconditions
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Relative deprivation
– Gurr, Why Men Rebel
– Furet, “On Revolutions…”
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J-curve theory (Davies)
Critique
March 12, 2016
Comparative Politics
11
Marx’s Theory of
Revolution
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Focus on historical necessity rooted in
economics
– Not primarily psychological or political
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Contradictions between forces and mode of
production
Self-conscious action by revolutionary class
– Made possible by economic contradictions
– Specifics varied from country to country
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Critique
March 12, 2016
Comparative Politics
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Functionalist Theories of
Revolution
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Focus on consistency between political
systems and sociopolitical values
Revolution is breakdown of stability
– System becomes “dissynchronized”
– Violence only likely when there’s a crisis
of legitimacy
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Critique
March 12, 2016
Comparative Politics
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Comparative History
Explains Revolution
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Seeks patterns (especially political) in major
revolutions
– E.g. Crane Brinton, The Anatomy of Revolution
– Charles Tilly, From Mobilization to Revolution
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Resources for collective action, not
motivation for violence
Emergence of “multiple sovereignty”
Why revolutions succeed
March 12, 2016
Comparative Politics
14
Skocpol: States and
Social Revolutions
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Structural focus, rather than voluntarist
– “revolutions are not made, they come”
– Structural weakness of state
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International and world-historical context
– International crises
– Revolutions occur in states in disadvantaged international
position
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Potential autonomy of the state
– Not merely a tool or arena
– “Janus-faced” – internal and external orientation
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Critique – does this apply beyond the “classic”
revolutions?
March 12, 2016
Comparative Politics
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