What is Revolution: Definition and 410 Discussions

In political science, a revolution (Latin: revolutio, "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due to perceived oppression (political, social, economic) or political incompetence. In book V of the Politics, the Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle (384–322 BC) described two types of political revolution:

Complete change from one constitution to another
Modification of an existing constitution.Revolutions have occurred through human history and vary widely in terms of methods, duration and motivating ideology. Their results include major changes in culture, economy and socio-political institutions, usually in response to perceived overwhelming autocracy or plutocracy.
Scholarly debates about what does and does not constitute a revolution center on several issues. Early studies of revolutions primarily analyzed events in European history from a psychological perspective, but more modern examinations include global events and incorporate perspectives from several social sciences, including sociology and political science. Several generations of scholarly thought on revolutions have generated many competing theories and contributed much to the current understanding of this complex phenomenon.
Notable revolutions in recent centuries include the creation of the United States through the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), the French Revolution (1789–1799), the Spanish American wars of independence (1808–1826), the European Revolutions of 1848, the Russian Revolution in 1917, the Chinese Revolution of the 1940s, the Cuban Revolution in 1959, the Iranian Revolution in 1979, and the European Revolutions of 1989.

View More On Wikipedia.org
  1. wasteofo2

    News The legality of violent revolution?

    Obviously, the first and second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence clearly state that when a government fails to serve the people properly and abuses their power etc. that it is the right of the people, and their duty, to overthrow such a form of government. Let's say someone feels...
  2. arivero

    The 4th superstring revolution.

    The spotting of the factor {D-2 \over 24} outside of the scope of string theory should be the trigger for a new revolution in this field. It could mean that a critical dimension is not exclusive of strings, or it could show how to avoid criticality after all. The term itself is not rare, the...
  3. marcus

    Industrial Revolution was thanks to Columbus

    Columbus report of another continent helped to create a widespread state of mind in which things are discovered. An epidemic of bold optimism and imagination ensued (at first primarily in Europe) Of course there was a downside---the Europeans got syphillis and the Aztecs and Incas got...
  4. N

    Significance of 'intelligence' - to the industrial revolution

    The genesis of this thread is Why this is still Amerikkka, where there was a lively discussion of the extent to which many sub-Saharan countries are still economically undeveloped as a result of the genes of their inhabitants, the extent to which those genes are responsible for agriculture and...
  5. 1

    Time travelling - Einstein's revolution

    Hello. I was wondering what you guys think about time travelling. I read Paul Davies's book called How to Build a Time Machine which left me more confused about this topic. What do you think :smile:
  6. tandoorichicken

    Parametric Equation for Surface Area of Revolution

    I know that the equation for the surface area of any solid of revolution around, say, the x-axis is SA = 2\pi\int_{a}^{b} y\sqrt{1 + (\frac{\,dy}{\,dx})^2} \,dx What I need is the same formula except in parametric terms, like if the problem was given in terms of x(t) and y(t). Any takers?
  7. L

    Volume of Revolution: Calculate the Volume

    Included is my attempt at the following question. I get an answer of 10pi, whereas the right answer is (10pi)/3 from my textbook. Here is the question: Rotate the triangle described by (-1,0),(0,1),(1,0) around the axis x=2 and calculate the volume of the solid. I basically changed the...
  8. Saint

    Some questions about Matrix Revolution

    Can you please answer me a few questions: 1) Did Neo die ? 2) How was Mr Smith defeated? 3) Who actually created Matrix? The old man? 4) Who actually is Oracle? A programme or real person? 5) Eventually, was the world restored to Reality ?
  9. S

    News Revolution New form of government.: Kleptocracy

    President Bush is touring the midwest trying to drum up support for his decidedly not "teeny-tiny" tax cut, which includes tax cuts on stock dividend income and raises the amount of money that business can write off from equipment purchases to $100,000 from $25,000. Meanwhile, stocks have...
  10. J

    Looking forward to the nanotechnological revolution

    With the news that Prince Charles is campaining against it this week I want to hear your views (although since most of you are scientists I think you'll be for it). Just for the record I am looking forward to the nanotechnological revolution.
Back
Top