Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels had realized the power of revolutionary
movements within history, and considered them an essential step towards
the creation of a classless society. Nevertheless, the number of failed
revolutions is as high as the dreams and hopes usually related to a
revolutionary change. As a global phenomenon of modernity, the history
of revolutions needs to be written comparatively, and for this a
comparative model is without any doubt a necessary tool.
Such a model, namely a comparative ten-step model will be provided in
this book, to be then used to compare revolutionary case studies. Of
course, the similarities among them are of special interest, while the
diversity, related to regional or national preconditions, shall not be
neglected. However, a comparison promises a better and critical insight
into the historical developments of revolutionary processes as such.
The present book will therefore analyze several revolutions of the
"long" nineteenth and "short" twentieth century to show how
revolutionary processes evolved. It will use the mentioned comparative
ten-step model to emphasize similarities with regard to the
revolutionary developments in different parts of the world. The book
thereby aims at providing a general, but deeper, understanding of
revolutions as a global phenomenon of modernity while explaining how
revolutionary processes evolve and develop, and how they could and can
be corrupted. The revolutionary case studies discussed include, among
others, France, Russia, Mexico, and China.
