NCJ Number
63666
Editor(s)
C LEIDEN,
K M SCHMITT
Date Published
1968
Length
254 pages
Annotation
A STUDY FOR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS OFFERS A SUMMARY OF THE LITERATURE ON THE THEORY AND ANALYSIS OF REVOLUTIONARY CAUSES AND EXAMINES REVOLUTION IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST.
Abstract
A COMPREHENSIVE ATTEMPT TO CONNECT THEORY AND PRACTICE OF REVOLUTION EXAMINES THE NATURE OF REVOLUTION AND VIOLENCE AS ONE OF ITS ASPECT. CASE STUDIES OF REVOLUTIONS IN MEXICO, TURKEY, EGYPT, AND CUBA ARE USED TO APPLY THE THEORY. BEGINNING WITH THE PREREVOLUTIONARY ENVIRONMENT AND THE CAUSES OF REVOLUTION, THE STUDY NOTES THAT WHILE FOREIGN DOMINATION, ECONOMIC CONDITIONS, POLITICAL UNREST, AND A DISINTEGRATION OF ELITES MAY CONTRIBUTE TO THE CAUSES OF REVOLUTION, GENERALIZATIONS CAN BE MADE ONLY TENTATIVELY. STAGES OF REVOLUTION, REVOLUTIONARY LEADERS AND FOLLOWERS, AND THE NEED FOR REVOLUTIONARY IDEOLOGY ARE DISCUSSED AT LENGTH. THE STAGES OF REVOLUTION ARE REVIEWED COVERING THE FORMAT OF INITIAL ACTION (WHICH MAY BE A SINGLE ACTION OR A SERIES OF RELATED EVENTS), TRIGGERING ELEMENTS, THE COURSE AND DURATION, AND THE COMPLETION IN A RETURN TO STABILITY. THREE KINDS OF REVOLUTIONARY LEADERS ARE IDENTIFIED: THOSE WHO INITIATE AND PREPARE THE GROUND, FANATICS TO IMPLEMENT THE MOVEMENT, AND THOSE WHO CONSOLIDATE AND CARRY IT THROUGH. AN INVESTIGATION OF GENERAL CLASS AND PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS OF REVOLUTIONARY LEADERS CONCLUDES THAT MOST ARE MIDDLE CLASS, IN EARLY MIDDLE AGE, AMBITIOUS AND TALENTED, BUT FRUSTRATED. MANY REVOLUTIONARY FOLLOWERS ALSO COME FROM THE MIDDLE CLASS. CHRONOLOGICALLY PRESENTED, THE REVOLUTIONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND LATIN AMERICA DEMONSTRATE SIMILARITIES BUT ALSO MANY UNIQUE QUALITIES WHICH STEM FROM DIFFERENT CULTURES, LEADERS' PERSONALITIES, FOREIGN INTERVENTION, AND OTHER FACTORS. EACH CASE STUDIED EXAMINES THE HISTORY OF THE AREA, CAUSE, THE USE OF VIOLENCE, DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES, THE NATURE OF LEADERSHIP, AND THE IMPACT OF IDEOLOGY. THE CONCLUSION NOTES THAT THE FUTURE OF REVOLUTION IS NOT PREDICTABLE. EXTENSIVE FOOTNOTES, A BIBLIOGRAPHY, AND AN INDEX ARE INCLUDED. (RFC)