"Things Fall Apart; the Centre Cannot Hold" (Yeats)

• In Event: International Politics and the Role of Ideology in Revolutions

Abstract

Political revolutions occur because long needed reforms do not get done, and problems accumulate. Eventually political regimes lose their legitimacy, experience some drastic failures, and get overthrown. Among the most important revolutions in modern history, most have originally been led by moderates, but under pressure from opponents who try to reverse change and radicals who want to go much further the middle tends to lose ground. Extremists on either the right or left take power. Almost invariably terrible death tolls, wars, and repressive regimes follow. From the French Revolution to most of those in the 20th century this has been a recurring pattern. Though history does not repeat itself, some patterns do, and the present world situation promises many more such tragedies. Understanding why this is so can help us see them coming.

Author

• Daniel Chirot, University of Washingtonb, Seattle