Revolutions, Coups, Regime Change

Course goals

Learning outcomes: after completing the course, you will have attained the following learning outcomes:

1. in-depth knowledge and understanding of historical developments related to the course topic;
2. in-depth knowledge of the historiography within the course topic;
3. in-depth knowledge of the theoretical discourse about this topic;
4. knowledge of a relevant historical case pertaining to the specialised topic.

Learning objectives and skills: after completing the course, you will be able to:  

1. critically reflect and actively participate in classroom discussions about the topic;
2. apply concepts, historiography and theories connected with the course topic;
3. apply their newly acquired knowledge of the theoretical discourse and historiography to a case study of their choice;
4. conduct independent research focusing (mainly) on in-depth secondary literature;
5. to report in writing and orally on independently conducted research on a self-chosen case.

Learning objective 1 is continuously practiced during the course. Learning objective 2 is tested in the exam. Learning objectives 3 to 5 are tested in the assignment.
 

Content

This is the second course of Specialisation 2: Political Conflict in Modern Europe.

The Arab Spring in the Middle East, the Maidan Revolution in Ukraine: these are only some of the most prominent examples of revolutionary revolt on a massive scale in recent history. Since the revolutions in America, France and elsewhere in the Atlantic world at the early modern period, revolutions are a recurrent phenomenon in political history. At the same time, revolutions are a topic of intense debate: how should they be appreciated and understood? Do revolutions cause chaos, civil war and unrest? Or, are they, instead a catalyst for the development of democratic societies and social justice? Furthermore, how and why do revolutions actually occur? And why do some revolutions succeed while others fail?

This course focuses on the explanations for revolutions and other forms of political upheaval in a long-term historical perspective. The course investigates different academic theories which claim to explain the causes, developments, and consequences of revolutions, coups and regime changes. We particularly focus on social class, the actions of the state-elites, ideology, and transitions to democracy. We apply these different explanations to concrete historical and recent instances of political upheaval, from the French Revolution in the eighteenth century right up to the Arab Spring in the world of today. We learn to weigh up different explanations and develop an understanding of the various dynamic processes that determine the course and consequences of revolutions. In your own individual research project, you will finally apply these various explanations to investigate a concrete revolutionary case in past or present.
 

Additional information

Early Exit option for international exchange students (5 ECTS)
Exchange students who are required to return to their home university before January, are allowed to choose an Early Exit option for this course. The Early Exit option means that students can finish the course before Christmas break, receiving 5 ECTS for the course. Students must make arrangements with the course coordinator at the start of the course.