Comparative Politics - PDF

RUNNING HEAD: Comparative Politics
Comparative Politics

Comparative Politics 1
Political violence can be defined as the term for describing violence perpetrated by either
governments or persons for the purpose of achieving their political goals. It is believed by a
number of individuals and groups that their political systems are never going to answer back to
their demands. Therefore, violence is justified and necessary from their viewpoint for achieving
their political objectives. For intimidating their public into acquiescence, many governments
across the world believe in using violence. Force is also used by the government for defending
their country from threats or outside invasion and for conquering territory and coercing outside
government. Political violence is either revolutionary or counterrevolutionary (Mamdani, 2002).
There are a number of forms in which political violence takes place such as ethnic conflict,
genocide, terrorism, torture, capital punishment, famine, police brutality, rebellion, revolution,
etc. This essay compares and contrasts two different forms of political violence namely terrorism
and revolution. Moreover, it also throws light on the internal and external factors that shape
terrorism and revolutions as forms of political violence.
Terrorism is a political violence form which is perpetrated by the weaker side of the conflict.
Terrorism may also fall under the category of violence between a state and non- state actor. It
can be defined as the intended use of threat of unlawful violence or unlawful violence for
inculcating fear, intended to intimidate societies or governments or to coerce for pursuing
religious, political or ideological goals. In other words, terrorism is the unlawful use of
intimidation and violence particularly against civilians for pursuing political aims. On the other
hand, revolution is public seizer of the state for the purpose of overturning the existing regime
and government. There is an important role played by public in case of revolution. However,
most of the times, violence is involved in revolution. The gap between the actual conditions and
public expectations in a country is the reason behind the occurrence of revolution. Revolution
has the capability of bringing new forms of economic systems and government and has the
capability of resulting in dictatorship and increased state power. Political violence is also the
result of insecurity. For example, European slave dealers presented opportunity which acted as
the major stimulus for violence between various African communities and within the given
community. It crossed the limits of regular warfare and took the form of kidnapping and raiding
which in turn increased the element of uncertainty and fear (Rodney, 1973).

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Comparison of terrorism with revolution provides that there are some similarities between them.
The ultimate reason behind the occurrence of both the forms is same i.e. when there is gap
between the actual conditions and expected conditions. Moreover, for a revolutionary, the main
reason behind fighting is the benefit of the people belonging to their nation. The definition of
terrorist is also same to a large extend. The only difference is that the terrorists fight only for
their own selves. The concepts are similar but the difference is only in the point of view. It is
often said that “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter”. This quote makes it clear
that there is only a difference of viewpoint in the concepts of revolutionary and terrorist. This
can further elaborated with the help of example of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. His mission
was to spread non- violence and truth among mankind in the place of non- truth and violence
(Charak & Gershom, 2016). He is considered to be a revolutionary by Indian and a terrorist by
UK based historians. Moreover, coercion plays an important role in both these forms as it
enforces public obedience through surveillance and violence.
However, there are some differences between terrorism and revolution. Terrorism is a one- sided
violence by non- state actors while revolution is violence between state and non- state actor.
Terrorists aim at targeting and killing the civilians. Their basic motive is to assist help
themselves of an unpopular minority. On the other hand, a revolutionary is a guided by
motivation and time. Motivation constitutes the aim of the revolutionary such as achieving social
justice and equality. Moreover, with the passage of time, even terrorists are considered to be
revolutionaries. The motives of undertaking terrorism and evulsion are different as a terrorist
fights for his own self while a revolutionary fights for the benefit of general public against the
government. There is also a difference in the methods used under terrorism and revolution. The
methods used by terrorists for the purpose of targeting civilians range from bombings to
shootings. Different revolutions make the use of different methods. Some Egyptian revolutions
were effective even with peaceful methods such as protests. However, some other revolutions
have also made the use of methods ranging from street violence to war. The violence in case of
revolution inclines to be focused mainly towards the regime and not towards the civilians.
Terrorism and revolution are also different in the intentions of revenge and self- immolation.
Terrorists aim at taking revenge through evilness from the other inhabitants while revolution is
aimed at self- immolation where they are ready to make a heroic sacrifice of their own lives
dedicating it to the inner domain of the community. Both self- immolation and revenge are

Comparative Politics 3
considered to be the acts of violence which are performed as a duty by responding to the
requirements of time for the purpose of securing the life of the nation (Charak & Gershom,
2016).
However, these forms of political violence are severely affected by some internal and external
factors. The internal factors that shape terrorism include illiteracy which leads to denial of right
to vote and a number of other advantages of democracy. The illiteracy further results in getting
discriminated in the public and leads individuals to suffer from the lack of opportunities. Lack of
educational infrastructure and extreme poverty does not allow them to grow further in life
(Howard, 2016). When they witness the growth of the people from their own country and other
countries, they get frustrated and often turn out to be extremism. Religion also plays an
important role in case of terrorism. There are various forms of religious terrorism but the Islamic
terrorism is most common.
The external factors shaping terrorism include ethno- nationalism in which a set of population
desires to break away from a ruling power or government and create their own state. For the
purpose of achieving their desired independent nation, they continue to employ terrorism. Newer
generations of such populations are also forcibly involved in such motives. Moreover,
discrimination or alienation is also considered to be a diver of terrorism. Also, grievances
against some political orders or the lack of political inclusiveness within states cause individuals
for creating or joining terrorists groups. The fact that other people across the globe live in
representative governments, individuals suffering as a result of living without political
representation lead themselves into the arms of terrorism. Furthermore, terrorist organizations
establish their activities in areas having poor government or areas that are conflict ridden. This
acts as a safe haven for them for the purpose of spreading their ideologies further to various other
areas and carries out their violent activities. Such internal and external factors influence the
individuals to engage in terrorism resulting in political violence. They feel that their
expectations can never be fulfilled and terrorism is the only way with the help of which they can
coerce the government for fulfilling all their demands.
As far as revolution is concerned, internal factors include class struggles. Class struggles are
considered to be much more than unhappiness of the lower classes or alienation in comparison
with the hierarchy. At the time when the class struggle is near the decisive hour, the

Comparative Politics 4
improvement in the process of dissolution carried on within the ruling class and in the entire old
society, assumes a glaring, violent character that the small division of the ruling class cuts itself
off and joins the revolutionary class which is supposed to hold future in its hands (Marx &
Engels, 1848). However, class struggle is the not the only factor that causes a revolution. The
expansions in higher education and the formation of drastic youth networks create a deadly
combination for addressing cultural and political issues. Youth rebellions and students in
coalition with various other social groups such as peasants, workers and rebellious sailors and
soldiers produce widespread violence.
The external actor include political crisis which triggers the launching of revolutions. The social
forces that drive revolutions are the political groups that are affected by the political crisis. The
changes in the political aspects constitutes a major factor cause of revolutions as it only spreads
new ideologies and enforces the beliefs for justifying the rules are forcibly imposed upon the
common population. The declines in the access to land for the peasants and wages for the
workers are also some of the reasons that result in the formation of groups that fight against the
government for their rights. Such groups or networks may be autonomous village organizations,
informal neighborhood groups, religious associations, nationalist or ethnic liberation groups.
Revolutions also arise as a result of inequalities which triggers a group of population to take step
against the unequal acts in the society. Such revolutions are mostly for the purpose of a good
cause such as equality, freedom, etc. For example, French Revolution took place in the name of
Equality, Liberty and Fraternity (Rodney, 1973).
Therefore, it can be concluded that political violence can take place in a number of different
forms. This essay focused specifically on terrorism and revolution which provided that the two
forms have some similarities along with some differences. When there is gap between the actual
conditions and expected conditions, terrorism and revolution takes place. However,
revolutionaries fight for the benefit of people belonging to their nation while terrorists fight only
for their own selves. The internal and external factors shaping and terrorism and revolution have
also been discussed in this essay which provided that illiteracy, inequality, poverty, religion, lack
of opportunities, political issues are the factors that give birth to these forms of political violence.

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Bibliography
Charak, S. and Gershom, E.N.D.P., 2016. Decolonising the Self: Gandhi and Fanon on Violence
and Agency.
Mamdani, M. 2002. When Victims Become Killers. Princeton University Press.
Marx, K. and Engels, F. 1848. Manifesto of the Communist Party. Progress Publishers, Moscow.
Rodney, W. 1973. How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, [Online]. Available at:
http://abahlali.org/files/3295358-walter-rodney.pdf [Accessed on: 2 May 2018 2018].