Political Science International Politics Revolution & Terrorism
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Revolution
A revolution is any fundamental change in the social or political aspects of a state. Most revolutions are political, occurring when the citizens of a country try to oust the existing government and replace it with a new one. Political revolutions tend to be tumultuous, violent events. There is no clear-cut explanation as to why people revolt, but scholars believe that some or all of the following factors lead to revolution:
- Injustice: Aristotle argued that the cause of revolution was the perception of injustice. If the underclasses feel that they are being treated unjustly, they will revolt.
- Relative deprivation: Some scholars have argued that revolutions occur after a period of good times has ended. The citizens begin to expect a higher quality of life and feel cheated when they perceive a stagnation or decline in the quality of their lives.
- State of the government: Revolutions are more likely to happen in countries with corrupt governments. If citizens believe in the efficacy of their government, then revolution is unlikely. But if a regime appears to exist solely to enrich the rulers, then revolution is more likely.
- The military: As the strongest power in most states, the military frequently determines whether a revolution will occur and be successful. If the military backs the government, then revolution is unlikely. A turning point in many revolutions occurs when soldiers decide to stop obeying the government and decide to fight alongside the revolutionaries.
Revolutions in History
Although people have always rebelled against their rulers and governments, the modern area witnessed many significant revolutions. Since the sixteenth century, most revolutions have been attempts to overthrow traditional regimes in the name of liberty. In the twentieth century alone, there were important revolutions in Russia, China, Egypt, and parts of communist Eastern Europe, as well as countless others in smaller countries. Revolutions, and countering revolutions, were a driving force of foreign policy in the twentieth century. However, three revolutions in particular have served as models for most of the world’s revolutions in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries:
- American Revolution (1776–1783): Leaders of the American Revolution overthrew British colonial rule to establish an independent republic. These colonial leaders considered the revolution to be a necessary evil and restricted the use of violence. Although the revolution affected the lives of most Americans, there was little social upheaval.
- French Revolution (1788–1799): The French Revolution began much as the American Revolution had but quickly turned violent. Tens of thousands of French citizens were executed during Maximilian Robespierre’s so-called Reign of Terror. Order was restored only when Napoleon Bonaparte seized control of the government.
- Russian Revolution (1917): Russian revolutionaries sought both the removal of the monarchy and the complete restructuring of civil society in accordance with Vladimir Lenin’s version of communism. The second phase of the Russian Revolution served as the model for dozens of other communist revolutions.
Fostering Revolution
Some nations have encouraged and supported revolutions in other countries as a foreign policy tool. For most of its existence, the Soviet Union promoted communist parties and revolutions around the world, most notoriously through the Comintern. Similarly, the United States fostered revolutions in such places as Iraq, Iran, Guatemala, and Nicaragua.
| Revolution | Place | Dates | Major Impact |
| English Civil War | England | 1642–1653 | Set the stage for limited monarchy, and eventually democracy, in England |
| Glorious Revolution | England | 1688 | Permanently ended absolute monarchy in England |
| American Revolution | United States | 1775–1783 | Created the first modern democratic state |
| French Revolution | France | 1789–1799 | Destroyed the old French monarchy, led to the creation of the French nation-state, and promoted nationalism around Europe |
| Haitian Revolution | Haiti | 1804 | Created the first free black republic |
| French Revolution of 1830 | France | 1830 | Permanently ended French monarchy |
| Mexican Revolution | Mexico | 1910 | Overthrew the dictator Porfirio DÃaz and created the modern Mexican state |
| Russian Revolution | Russia | 1917 | Ended czarist rule in Russia and created the first communist state |
| Spanish Revolution | Spain | 1936 | Turned Spain into a fascist state |
| Chinese Civil War | China | 1949 | Turned China into a communist state |
| Algerian War of Independence | Algeria | 1954–1962 | Ended French imperial control of Algeria |
| Cuban Revolution | Cuba | 1959 | Overthrew Batista and created a communist regime |
| Iranian Revolution | Iran | 1979 | Overthrew the shah and created an Islamic regime |
| Nicaraguan Revolution | Nicaragua | 1979 | Overthrew the despotic regime and brought Marxist Sandinistas to power |
| Revolutions of 1989 | Eastern Europe | 1989 | Ended Soviet and communist rule of many Eastern European states |
Success and Failure
Revolutions are extremely difficult to achieve. For a revolution to succeed, many people must agree that the government needs to be overthrown, and these people must be willing to put themselves in danger and prepare for the possibility of civil war. Moreover, revolutions usually fail. For example, in Europe in 1848, democratic ideas and the free market spawned a series of revolutions across the continent. Most of them failed miserably, and perhaps the main impact of the revolutions of 1848 was the strengthening of authoritarian rule.
The Industrial Revolution
Not all revolutions are political. A social revolution is a revolution that transforms society or the economy without drastically altering the existing political system. The Industrial Revolution of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries had a major impact on every country in the world. Beginning around 1780 in England, industry started to replace agriculture, and machinery started to replace manual labor. By the mid-nineteenth century, new forms of production and transportation—including the invention of the steam engine, mechanical typesetting, and movies—had fundamentally altered the modern world. Consequently, the lives of Europeans changed drastically within just a couple of decades.
Terrorism
Terrorism is the use of violence (often against civilian targets) to instill fear, generate publicity, and sometimes destabilize governments. Generally speaking, small groups fighting against powerful states practice terrorism, but governments also have the ability to practice terrorism. Throughout history, terrorism has taken many forms. Just in the last two centuries, for example, terrorism has been used by Russian nihilists, nationalists in Israel, Nazi forces, environmentalists worldwide, left-wing guerrillas in Europe, discontented radicals in the United States, Latin American death squads, and Islamic fundamentalists. Terrorism is not tied to any one particular ideology or group.
Types of Terrorism
Scholars generally classify terrorism into two types: terrorism practiced by governments and terrorism practiced by groups not affiliated with a government. Ideological terrorism aims to promote a particular belief system through acts of violence; it may be practiced by both governments and groups.
| TYPES OF TERRORISM | |
| Terrorism Practiced by Governments |
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| Terrorism Practiced by Groups |
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Some types of terrorism fit into more than one of these categories. Suicide bombings in Israel, for example, are ideological (promoting a Palestinian state and sometimes also promoting Islamic fundamentalism), state-sponsored (a number of Arab governments fund the bombers), and domestic (many are carried out by Arabs living in Israel).
Guerrillas Versus Terrorists
Although guerrillas have been known to practice terrorism, guerrillas are not terrorists. Guerrillas fight against their governments, particularly against the military, in order to provoke a regime change. Terrorists, in contrast, target civilians and members of the military in order to create a social and political crisis of international proportions. Of course, those fighting a guerrilla group might label their opponents terrorists, and some terrorists may see themselves as guerrillas.
The Purpose of Terrorism
Terrorist acts ultimately aim to undermine governments and disrupt societies. Many terrorists are young, frustrated men who feel that they have been treated unjustly. Sometimes terrorists try to destabilize a government directly, via assassinations, kidnappings, and the bombing of government buildings. Terrorists can also work to undermine governments indirectly by showing people that their leaders are too weak to prevent the attacks and that an active resistance movement exists. Sometimes, terrorists attack in order to provoke a strong response from the government, hoping that the response will alienate more people from the government and foster even more political discord.
Example: Many scholars and political analysts have argued that President George W. Bush played into al Qaeda’s hands by passing the Patriot Act in 2001 and by invading Iraq in 2003. The Patriot Act gave the federal government more power to detain and question suspected terrorists—often without trial—and to monitor suspicious activity. The Iraq War, meanwhile, deeply divided Americans when it became clear that Saddam Hussein had no connection with al Qaeda and was not harboring weapons of mass destruction. The federal government’s suspension of some civil liberties along with the specter of deceit has shattered much of the unity Americans felt in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks.
