Understanding the Causes of Revolutions: Structural Pressures and Triggers
By
rzk
The bagel they save for the regulars. Don't skim, savour.
Summary
The article explores the parallels between the causes of revolutions and earthquakes, distinguishing between structural conditions (slow-building pressures) and triggers (sudden events). It uses examples like the self-immolation of a fruit vendor triggering the Arab Spring to illustrate unpredictability in triggers, while structural pressures develop gradually.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledThe causes of revolutions and major rebellions are in many ways similar to processes that cause earthquakes.
In both revolutions and earthquakes it is useful to distinguish the structural conditions (pressures, which build up slowly) from triggers (sudden releasing events, which immediately precede a social or geological eruption).
Specific triggers of political upheavals, such as self-immolation of a fruit vendor, which triggered the Arabic Spring in Tunisia, are very hard, perhaps impossible to predict.
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