Harvard Government 20 Week 6 Handout 1

Government 20 Week 6, Lecture 1: Introduction to Revolution I. Defining Revolution II. Why Revolutions Matter A. Great human experiments (democracy, socialism) and tragedies (famine, genocide) B. Spread new ideologies (e.g., liberalism, socialism, radical Islam) C. Generate major increases in national power (e.g., Napoleonic France, USSR) D. Reshape international politics (e.g., Cold War) III. Two Common but Misguided Explanations of Revolution A. The “Misery Breeds Revolt” thesis a. The argument: extreme poverty and equality eventually leads people to revolt b. Problem: lacks empirical basis; poor people rarely revolt B. Vanguard or leadership-centered approaches a. The argument: small group of committed leaders can be catalyst for revolution b. Problem: also lacks empirical support; many failed “focos” in Third World IV. Marx’s Theory of Revolution A. The Theory a. Industrialization leads to growth of working class b. Capitalist exploitation leads to increased immiseration of working class c. At advanced stage of industrialization, working class leads revolutionary overthrow of capitalist system B. Implications a. Expects revolution in advanced industrialized countries (Germany, England), not poor agrarian countries (China, Russia) b. Urban focus: expects working class-based revolution, not peasant revolution c. Structuralist: revolution is inevitable; no need for charismatic leaders, vanguards C. Problems a. No revolution in advanced industrialized countries (fails to predict welfare state) b. Revolutions occur in pre-industrial societies and are peasant-based Key Terms and Dates Social revolution Foco Theory and Domino Theory Che Guevara The English Revolution (1640) The French Revolution (1789) The Mexican Revolution (1910) The Russian Revolution (1917) The Chinese Revolution (1949) The Vietnamese Revolution (1954) The Cuban Revolution (1959) The Nicaraguan Revolution (1979) The Iranian Revolution (1979) “Revolutions from above” (Meiji Japan; Ataturk in Turkey; Nasser in Egypt) [not revolutions] Colored revolutions (Ukraine, Georgia) [not revolutions]