The Anatomy of Revolutions

Crane Brintons Stages of Revolution

Who is Crane Brinton and what is this all about?

Crane Brinton was a historian who analyzed four revolutions and found
commonalities between them.
He found that there are four phases that most revolutions go through.
He wrote a very important book about these phases called; The Anatomy of a
Revolution. This book was published in 1966.

Phase 1: Symptoms
1. The middle class is angry at the policies of the government.
2. The government is ineffective and is unable to effectively manage the country.
This could be because the leader is not doing a good job or because of a lack of
money in the government.
3. Eventually, the government is deserted by the intellectuals, who also then speak
out against the government.
Phase 2: The Rising Fever
1. This is the escalation of the anger felt by the middle class. The people rise up
against the government.
2. The current government can not repress the rebellion.
3. A new government is created, led by the middle class. They will try to replace the
old government.
Phase 3: Crisis
1. The revolutionary new government tries to violently overthrow the old
government.
2. There is a lot of violence and efforts to spread the revolution. Opposition to the
revolution is squashed.
3. The revolution is fragile because popular support is needed and economic
conditions are poor.
4. The old government tries to hold onto power.
Phase 4: Convalescence
1. The old government is successfully overthrown. The revolution ends and the
country enters a period of recovery. A strong ruler comes to power and the new
government begins the process of stabilizing the country.
2. Life in the country begins to return to normal.