Theories of Revolution
Theories of Revolution
"What is a structural theory of revolution? How does a structural theory differ from explanations that emphasize the role of individuals, ideology, and culture? Assess the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches for understanding the origins and outcomes of revolutions."
Theories of revolutions come from many sources and involve informed decisions made by the reader. In order for one to come to the final realisation as to what the theories of revolutions are one must first answer the following questions: what is a structural theory of revolution? How does a structural theory differ from explanations that emphasize the role of individuals, ideology and culture? It also involves the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches being assessed in order to understand the origins and outcomes of revolutions. All of these questions will be answered in the following essay using many different sources in order to provide evidence.
The first question one must answer is what is a structural theory of revolution? Revolutions, depending on the critic, are composed of many structural theories, all of which are comprised of many components. Many structural theories include the factors such as the situation of the peasantry, the strength (or lack of) the economy, foreign affairs, the unemployment rate and strong opposition – capitalism versus socialism. These are all different concepts which must be taken into account when considering what a structural theory actually is. They are, however, usually composed of peasant rebellions which have become extremely defensive in order to protect the traditional lifestyles against increasing strains, which include the increase in population; “commercialization and market growth”; and the “dislocation among the elites that traditionally mediate peasants’ interactions with government authorities and the outside world”.[1]
From reading Charles Tilly’s paper “Does Modernization Breed
"What is a structural theory of revolution? How does a structural theory differ from explanations that emphasize the role of individuals, ideology, and culture? Assess the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches for understanding the origins and outcomes of revolutions."
Theories of revolutions come from many sources and involve informed decisions made by the reader. In order for one to come to the final realisation as to what the theories of revolutions are one must first answer the following questions: what is a structural theory of revolution? How does a structural theory differ from explanations that emphasize the role of individuals, ideology and culture? It also involves the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches being assessed in order to understand the origins and outcomes of revolutions. All of these questions will be answered in the following essay using many different sources in order to provide evidence.
The first question one must answer is what is a structural theory of revolution? Revolutions, depending on the critic, are composed of many structural theories, all of which are comprised of many components. Many structural theories include the factors such as the situation of the peasantry, the strength (or lack of) the economy, foreign affairs, the unemployment rate and strong opposition – capitalism versus socialism. These are all different concepts which must be taken into account when considering what a structural theory actually is. They are, however, usually composed of peasant rebellions which have become extremely defensive in order to protect the traditional lifestyles against increasing strains, which include the increase in population; “commercialization and market growth”; and the “dislocation among the elites that traditionally mediate peasants’ interactions with government authorities and the outside world”.[1]
From reading Charles Tilly’s paper “Does Modernization Breed
Bibliography: Marx, Karl and Engels, Frederick, “Manifesto of the Communist Party” in Jack A Goldstone (ed), Revolutions: Theoretical, Comparative and Historical Studies, (Canada, 2008) pp23-31. De Tocqueville, Alexis, “The French Revolution and the Growth of the State” in Jack A Goldstone (ed), Revolutions: Theoretical, Comparative and Historical Studies, (Canada, 2008) pp31-33. Weber, Max, “Charisma, Bureaucracy, and the Revolution” in Jack A Goldstone (ed), Revolutions: Theoretical, Comparative and Historical Studies, (Canada, 2008) pp33-37. Huntington, Samuel P, “Revolution and Political Order” in Jack A Goldstone (ed), Revolutions: Theoretical, Comparative and Historical Studies, (Canada, 2008) pp37-45. Goldstone, Jack A, “Revolutions in Modern Dictatorships” in Jack A Goldstone (ed), Revolutions: Theoretical, Comparative and Historical Studies, (Canada, 2008) pp69-76. Selbin, Eric, “Agency and Culture in Revolutions” in Jack A Goldstone (ed), Revolutions: Theoretical, Comparative and Historical Studies, (Canada, 2008) pp76-84. Kelley, Jonathan and Klein, Herbert S. “Revolution and the Rebirth of Inequality: Stratification in Postrevolutionary Society” in Jack A Goldstone (ed), Revolutions: Theoretical, Comparative and Historical Studies, (Canada, 2008) pp86-94. Moghadam, Valentine M, “Gender and Revolutions” in Jack A Goldstone (ed), Revolutions: Theoretical, Comparative and Historical Studies, (Canada, 2008) pp94-107. Foran, John and Goodwin, Jeff, “Dictatorship or Democracy: Outcomes of Revolution in Iran and Nicaragua” in Jack A Goldstone (ed), Revolutions: Theoretical, Comparative and Historical Studies, (Canada, 2008) pp107-120. Eckstein, Susan, “The Impact of Revolution on Social Welfare in Latin America” in Jack A Goldstone (ed), Revolutions: Theoretical, Comparative and Historical Studies, (Canada, 2008) pp120-136. Halliday, Fred, “Counter-Revolution” in Jack A Goldstone (ed), Revolutions: Theoretical, Comparative and Historical Studies, (Canada, 2008) pp136-140. Walt, Stephen M, “Revolution and War” in Jack A Goldstone (ed), Revolutions: Theoretical, Comparative and Historical Studies, (Canada, 2008) pp140-150. Katz, Mark N, “The Diffusion of Revolutionary Waves” in Jack A Goldstone (ed), Revolutions: Theoretical, Comparative and Historical Studies, (Canada, 2008) p150-153. ----------------------- [1] “The Origins of Revolution”, by Eric R Wolf, in Revolutions: Theoretical, Comparative, and Historical Studies, Jack A Goldstone (ed),(Canada, 2008) page 55.