Question

What are some different reasons that scholars have given for the occurrence of revolutions?

Answer 1

There are five elements which establish an unstable social balance: economic or fiscal pressure, elite alienation and opposition, widespread public anger at injustice, compelling common resistance narrative, and favorable international relations. Revolutions have both systemic and transient causes; structural causes are long-term and large-scale developments that disrupt existing social structures and relationships and transient causes are contingent occurrences, or acts by individuals or organizations, exposing the influence of longer-term patterns and also galvanizing radical oppositions to take further action.

When the sudden reversal of economic fortune happens, the capacity to purchase goods decreases as the aspirations of the people as to what they think they will be able to receive begin to increase. The disparity between what people can get and what they think should be able to get develops and turns into a crisis of growing expectations. And citizens who are sad, unsatisfied and angry then turn to political abuse. Revolutions only arise when value congruence imbalances exist. After making some changes, the political leaders could re-stabilize the structure. Otherwise, anarchy would break out and force the regime to turn to a new equilibrium.

The possession of adequate resources by individuals and large organisations are crucial determinants for the resolution and winning of revolutionary conflicts. The revolutionary struggle can only be over when a single power, be it the government or a competitor, prevails.