- States and Social Revolutions
"States and Social Revolutions: A Comparative Analysis of France, Russia and China" is a
1979 book bypolitical scientist andsociologist Theda Skocpol , published byCambridge University Press and explaining the causes ofrevolution s through thestructural functionalism sociological paradigm comparative historical analysis of theFrench Revolution , Russian Revolution and theChinese Revolution .Skocpol distinguishes social revolutions, in which the fundamental
social order of a society is changed, from political revolutions in which one group of office-holders is simply replaced with another.She centers her explanation for social revolutions on
state social structure s, international competitive pressures and internationaldemonstration effect s, and class relations, drawing on theMarxist (class struggle ) andstructuralist (revolution equals response to destabilization ofsocial system ) schools, and favouring the latter. She empasizes how international events and relations between states (like threats ofinvasion , defeats inwar , political dependency and economic inequalities) can impact the outcomes of domestic events (like revolutions), by leading to increased destabilization and political crises (a state financial emergency, severeelite divisions, apower vacuum , and a potential and propensity for popular groups to mobilize) which in turns create anopportunity for the revolutionary forces to act. Skocpol notes that while elites play an important role, the masses - ordinary citizens - are also vital, and most successful revolutions were aided by urban and especiallypeasant rebellion s.In terms of long term impact, her emphasis of the importance of the state (visible in the very title of the book) and (that's one of the crucial points Skocpol differs from Marx) the conception of the state as an independent actor within society and partially autonomous from other interests has been important in shaping later thought in political science.
The book is structured as a comparative historical analysis of the
French Revolution of 1787 through the early 1800s, the Russian Revolution of 1917 through the 1930s, and theChinese Revolution of 1911 through the 1960s. Skocpol argues that these three cases, spread over about a century and a half, are fundamentally similar instances. By analyzing how thesocial institution of thestate changed and influenced thesocial change , the book can also be placed within thehistorical institutionalism paradigm.Criticism of Skocpol book centers around her deemphasis of agency (role of individuals and
ideology ) and her mixed use of comparative methodological strategies.External links
* [http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~fannion/gov97b/week03.htm States and Social Revolutions]
*PDF| [http://www.libstudy.hawaii.edu/manicas/pdf_files/pub/skocpolreview.pdf Reviews of the book] |48.8 KiB
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