Social revolution: Conflict of ideology as a driving force towards war

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8 word format

document in English

political science

presentation

published 09/09/2008

review : Completed

level : General public

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Summary

As described by Stephen M. Walt in his essay Revolution and War, social revolutions, or revolutions that seek to overthrow and reshape the social structure of a nation, are fueled and motivated by ideology. Walt writes that “it is hard to imagine a mass revolution succeeding without an ideological program that both justified revolt and gave participants some reason to believe they would win” (Walt 340). In The Old Régime and the French Revolution, Alexis de Tocqueville notes that social revolutions that are motivated by ideology are oftentimes the strongest and most unstoppable type of revolution because an ideology can inspire a revolution to be transcendental and boundless. Tocqueville writes that social revolutions driven by ideology can create “an atmosphere of missionary fervor and, indeed, assum[e] all the aspects of a religious revival” in that the ideologies of such revolutions are so potent that they cause unprecedented support and action in favor of the revolutionary mindset (Tocqueville 13). As such, it can be argued that the specific ideology of a social revolution drives the policy of the revolution; the ideology gives direction to the movement and propels it toward its eventual success or failure. If it is then accepted that policy in a social revolution is dictated by ideology, it can be further argued that war tends to occur when the ideologies of the revolutionary state and its surrounding states conflict. When threatened, an ideology will drive a nation to “continue” its revolutionary,