Political Science: An Introduction Political Violence: (Pascal Rossignol/Corbis)

Political Science: An Introduction
Chapter 17
Political Violence
(Pascal Rossignol/Corbis)
Copyright @ 2012, 2010, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
System Breakdown
 System breakdown – Major political malfunction or
instability
 Most countries suffer system breakdown: major riots,

civil war, terrorism, military coups, authoritarian regimes
 Breakdown starts when legitimacy erodes, when the

regime shows it is unfair and ineffective in running the
country
Violence as a Symptom
 Violence—riots, mass strikes, terrorist bombings, and

political assassinations—by itself does not indicate that
revolution is near
 Violence can be seen as symptomatic of the erosion of

the government’s effectiveness and legitimacy
 The most common response to serious domestic unrest

is not revolution at all but military takeover
 Domestic violence is both deplorable and informative
Types of Violence
 Primordial – arises from conflicts between basic

communities – ethnic, national, religious – into which
people are born
 Separatist – a group seeks independence, possibly a
result of primordial conflict, from a larger community
 Revolutionary – seeks to overthrow or replace an
existing regime; includes counterrevolutionary violence,
the efforts of conservative groups to halt revolutions
 Coups – usually aimed against revolution, corruption,
and chaos
 Issues – catchall category includes a host of kinds of
violence that is usually less violent than the other types
Change as a Cause of Violence
 Purely traditional societies with old authority patterns and
simple economies are relatively untroubled by violence
 Economic change can be the most unsettling; when

things improve, people start imagining a better future,
their aspirations are awakened
 People may feel relative deprivation; they’re not in

poverty, but they see others living much better, inciting
them to anger, sometimes even revolution
Rising Expectations
Curve of rising expectations
Revolutions
 Revolution – A quick, dramatic replacement of a regime

by another that throws out the old elites
 Reform – moderate change that leaves the system intact
 Revolution is not necessarily bloody; East European

countries underwent dramatic system change without
bloodshed
 Unrest and discontent by themselves will not bring down

a regime, organization is essential; resistance is most
likely to take the form of apathy and indifference
Intellectuals and Revolution
 Intellectuals are nearly everywhere discontent with the

existing state of affairs because they are highly educated
and acquainted with a variety of ideas
 Intellectuals may have a “revolutionary faith” or the belief

that they have better ideas for improvement
 They often resent people who are wealthier than they

are but not as intellectual
 All revolutions are led by an intellectual elite; they

articulate the problems with the existing system and the
solution to the problems
Stages of Revolution
 The Old Regime Decays
 The First Stage of Revolution
 At First, Moderates Take Over
 Extremists Take Over
 A “Thermidor” Ends the Reign of Terror
After the Revolution
 Revolutions show a persistent tendency to overthrow

one form of tyranny only to replace it with another;
revolutions tend to end by raising up a dictator
 Currently, there are few major revolutionary movements

in operation
 The crux of revolutionary thinking is that it is possible to

remake society; without that, few would make revolutions
 Revolutions are based on the belief that, by seizing state

power, a truly committed regime can redo society; things
often get worse
Violent vs. Velvet Revolutions
 Historically, most revolutions have been violent and

bitter, as enraged sectors of the population rose up
against hated regimes
 However, scholars note that recently a new “velvet”

revolution has become common
 Some scholars argue these are not revolutions because

they lack the ferocious qualities of violent revolutions; but
revolution means sweeping system change

Political Science: An Introduction Political Violence: (Pascal Rossignol/Corbis)

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Political Science: An Introduction Political Violence: (Pascal Rossignol/Corbis)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Political Science: An Introduction

 Most countries suffer system breakdown: major riots,

 Breakdown starts when legitimacy erodes, when the

 Violence—riots, mass strikes, terrorist bombings, and

 Violence can be seen as symptomatic of the erosion of

 The most common response to serious domestic unrest

 Domestic violence is both deplorable and informative

 Primordial – arises from conflicts between basic

 Economic change can be the most unsettling; when

 People may feel relative deprivation; they’re not in

Curve of rising expectations

 Revolution – A quick, dramatic replacement of a regime

 Reform – moderate change that leaves the system intact

 Revolution is not necessarily bloody; East European

 Unrest and discontent by themselves will not bring down

 Intellectuals are nearly everywhere discontent with the

 Intellectuals may have a “revolutionary faith” or the belief

 They often resent people who are wealthier than they

 All revolutions are led by an intellectual elite; they

 The First Stage of Revolution

 At First, Moderates Take Over

 Extremists Take Over

 A “Thermidor” Ends the Reign of Terror

 Revolutions show a persistent tendency to overthrow

 Currently, there are few major revolutionary movements

 The crux of revolutionary thinking is that it is possible to

 Revolutions are based on the belief that, by seizing state

 Historically, most revolutions have been violent and

 However, scholars note that recently a new “velvet”

 Some scholars argue these are not revolutions because

You might also like