Transcript Political Change: Revolutions

Political Change
AP Comparative Government
Unit V
The Beginning of Political Change
Somewhere in the history of
pre-industrial or postindustrial societies, lies a
period of time where
ancestors (our forefathers)
rose up against tyrants,
tossed off the shackles of a
dictatorial regime,
produced a revolution, and
gained freedom….
Revolution
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Definition
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From the Latin revolutio, "a turn around”
Violent change against an established institution.
To have a revolution, one must have a
certain mix of ideas, people and events
We shall call these . . .
Revolutionary Components
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Leader
Followers
Theme
Cause
Oppressor
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Recognition
Resources
Martyr
Spark
Propaganda
Revolutionary Components
1. Leader –
 The great mind or visionary -- Who is calling the shots?
(Rousseau, John Locke, Jefferson)
Example: Russia
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Boris Yeltsin
First president of Russia
Pushed for democratization of the USSR
satellite states as well as Russia
Abolished office of supreme leader
Reopened ties with west
Example: Nigeria
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Jaja Wachuku
First Speaker of House
Well educated
Originally From Nigeria, but lived in
Ireland where received education
Exceptional Lawyer and Statesman
Map showing the location of the secessionist
Republic of Biafra within Nigeria
Revolutionary Components
2. Followers - Radicals -- The guerillas, Terrorists, zealots, bomb
throwers, those who will die for the cause. . . (Sam
Adams, Nathan Hale, Ben Franklin)
 Masses -- Very important group and you need at least
50% of them to be successful.
1979 Revolution in Iran
Example: Iran
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Most supporters desired a complete overthrow and a
development of an Islamic Republic of Iran
 Students, religious hardliners, communist
organizations were all supporters of the revolution
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People who felt that Islam was failing under the leadership of
the Shah
Supporters of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and
extreme conservatives
Constitutionalist liberals — the democratic, reformist
Islamic Freedom Movement of Iran, headed by Mehdi
Bazargan, and the National Front
 Wanted reform and not a complete overthrow—
just Change
 Lacked the organization and power of the Khomeini
movement
Revolutionary Components
3. Theme –
 Very Simple is Best –
 “Give me Liberty or give me death”
 Taxation without representation
The Mass Line- Mao realized that the
REAL power was from the
Chinese Peasants
Revolutionary Components
4. Cause –
 Usually very complex (Get rid of the Limeys) -represented by simple theme
Mexican Zapatista Uprising
1994
Example: Mexico
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Zapatista Army of National Liberation
Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional
EZLN
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Peaceful revolutionary group
Based in Chiapas, Mexico (one of the poorest
states in Mexico)
Rural, indigenous people
Led by Subcomandante Marcos
Revolutionary Components
5. Oppressor
 The Bad Guy, who is, in the eyes of the radicals, the target.
 (George III, the Shah, the Mexican government)
6. Recognition
 When the Oppressor recognizes he has a problem. . .
 He has four options
(1) Give in or Capitulate (Not likely)
(2) Compromise
(3) Fight . . . or call out the troops
(4) Do nothing
Revolutionary Components
7. Resources
 Guns + Stuff + things
(1) External -- Help from afar
(2) Internal -- Patriot’s guns
8. Martyr
 Somebody who dies for the cause
9. Spark
 What sets off the rebellion (death of a
patriot…)
10. Propaganda
 Truth is its most important element
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Is this true??
The Classic Revolutionary Cycle
One Thought
Honeymoon
Period
Discontent
Radicalism
Recognition
New Government
Instability
The Classic Revolutionary Cycle
One thought
2.
Discontent -- Civil disobedience
3.
Radicalism
4.
Recognition -- Civil War
5.
Instability -- the masses join the fray
6.
New Government
7.
Honeymoon period
-----------------------------------1. One thought……..
1.
Patriot v Radical?
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What is the difference between a Patriot
and a Radical?
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One is accepted and the other is not.
The Political Spectrum
Radical
Liberal
Conservative
Reactionary
Change is the key element
What does “Dynamic Change”
Accomplish?
1.
Political change
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2.
Economic redistribution of wealth
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3.
5.
6.
The rise of a new class
Social movements
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4.
New theories – idealism
Urbanization
Religious unity or disunity
New party systems
Other ideas…?
Revolutions to Consider…
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Russia
Nigeria
Mexico
China
Great Britain
Iran
The Revolutions
What was wrong and how was it
solved?
TYPES OF CHANGE
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Change occurs in many ways, but
it may be categorized into three
types:
 Reform
 Revolution
 Coup d'etat
Change through Reform
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Reform is a type of change that does not advocate the
overthrow of basic institutions.
The reformers DO NOT advocate the overthrow
of basic economic or political institutions.
 For example, reformers may want to change
business practices in order to preserve real
competition in a capitalist country
 Or they may want the government to become
more proactive in preserving the natural
environment
Revolution
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Revolution, in contrast to reform, implies change at a
more basic level, and does involve either a major
revision or an overthrow of existing institutions.
A revolution usually impacts more than one area
of life.
 The French and American Revolutions were
directed at the political systems, but they
significantly changed the economies and societal
practices of both countries, and spread their
influence throughout the globe.
Coup D'état
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Coup d'etats generally represent the most limited of
the three types of change.
 In a coup the leadership of a country is replaced
with new leaders.
Typically coups occur in countries where
government institutions are weak and leaders
have taken control by force.
Often coups are carried out by the military, but the
new leaders are always vulnerable to being
overthrown by yet another coup.
ATTITUDES TOWARD
CHANGE
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The types of change that take place are
usually strongly influenced by the
attitudes of those that promote them.
Attitudes toward change include:
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Radicalism
Liberalism
Conservatism
Reactionary responses
Radicalism
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Radicalism is a belief that rapid, dramatic changes
need to be made in the existing society, often
including the political system.
Radicals usually think that the current system
cannot be saved and must be overturned and
replaced with something better.
For example, radicalism prevailed in Russia in 1917
when the old tsarist regime was replaced by the
communist U.S.S.R. Radicals are often the leaders of
revolutions.
Liberalism
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Liberalism supports reform and gradual change
rather than revolution.
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This is NOT always the same as liberalism as a political
ideology. The two may or may not accompany one
another.
This type of liberalism generally does not believe that the
political and/or economic systems are broken, but they do
believe that they need to be repaired or improved.
They may support the notion that eventual
transformation needs to take place, but they almost
always believe that gradual change is the best.
Conservatism
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Conservatism is much less supportive of change
in general than are radicalism and liberalism.
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Conservatives tend to see change as disruptive, and they
emphasize the fact that it sometimes brings unforeseen
outcomes.
Legitimacy itself might be undermined, as well as the
basic values and beliefs of the society.
They consider the state and the regime to be very
important sources of law and order that might be
threatened by making significant changes in the way
that they operate.
Reactionary Responses
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Reactionary beliefs go further to protect against change
than do conservative beliefs.
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Reactionaries are similar to conservatives in that they oppose
both revolution and reform, but they differ in that they also
find the status quo unacceptable.
Instead, they want to turn back the clock to an earlier era, and
reinstate political, social, and economic institutions that
once existed.
Reactionaries have one thing in common with radicals:
both groups are more willing to use violence to reach
their goals than are liberals or conservatives.
THREE TRENDS
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2.
3.
In comparing political systems, it is important
to take notice of overall patterns of
development that affect everyone in the
contemporary world.
Democratization
Movement toward market economies
The revival of ethnic or cultural politics
THREE TRENDS
1.
2.
3.
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Democratization
Movement toward market economies
The revival of ethnic or cultural politics
Two of these trends - democratization and the
move toward market economies - indicate
growing commonalities among nations
The third represents fragmentation - the
revival of ethnic or cultural politics
Political Change in the 21st C
And the next
step for our 6
core countries
is…