Political Turbian Paper

Course concepts outline.html

WEEKS 12-13: OUTCOMES and CONCLUSIONS lectures/Van Inwegen chapters 8-9

• WATCH VIDEO: Koppel Report 1990 “Death of a Dictator” – Revolution in Romania https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8DQ-Axi1V0
• Assignment (week 13): Short analytical paper on Romanian revolution video ("Death of a Dictator") = 50 points

1) OUTCOMES OF REVOLUTION

A) Importance of re-establishing legitimacy

B) Institutionalization (definition)

(1) System of justice/judiciary

(2) Enforcement of justice – military and police

C) Consolidation (definition and functions)

D) Impact – positive? Progressive?

E) New ideas but often maintaining elements of former regime is necessary

(1) Conservative

(2) Moderate

(3) Radical

F) Political values (see Easton’s definition of politics) and new policies

(1) Conservative

(2) Moderate

(3) Radical

(G) Techniques to protect and maintain new institutions

(1) Compromise freedom and equality for security?

(a) Positive = if eventually improves capability to compete and is temporary

(b) Negative = if results in long-term authoritarian policies (Bolsheviks, Cuba, China, Napoleonic France)

(2) Some evidence that post-revolutionary states more likely to engage in international conflict with consequences

(H) Objective measurements of improved quality of life for population (GDP, quality of life, casualties?)

(I) Some evidence that high levels of revolutionary violence result in more violence post-revolution

2) STUDY OF REVOLUTION

A) Consensus by scholars of revolution

(1) General identifiable process

(2) Structural preconditions are important

B) Debate by scholars of revolution

(1) Basic definition of revolution

(2) Structure versus Agency

(3) Questions about predictive power

3) CONCLUSIONS – REVOLUTION IS RARE - Five critical conditions – necessary and sufficient if occur simultaneously for revolution (see: James DeFronzo, Revolutions and Revolutionary Movement 5th edition, Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2015: 9-26)

A) Mass frustration which results in popular uprisings among rural and urban sectors of population

B) Dissident elite political movements (wealthy, powerful, intellectual, skilled) that engage in contending claims to authority

C) Unifying motivations that result in broad unified support for radical and rapid change in regime (for example: liberal, modernist, nationalist, religious, Marxist, etc.)

D) Political crisis that threatens administrative legitimacy and coercive capability of government (for example: defeat in war; catastrophic natural disaster; economic disaster; loss of critical economic or military support from abroad)

E) Permissive or tolerant international environment that results in no threat of intervention to arrest revolution or will imply support