Additions to steps in a revolution


Even though this series of steps of a revolution ends in dictatorship, a few more steps could greatly alter the outcome of a revolution. Some of the steps that could be added to the revolutionary cycle would be:

9) The dictator will carry out a totalitarian reform program to help strengthen the nation.

10) The nation will become strong in foreign affairs, but will eventually lose its strength within because of mutual distrust for the totalitarian government

11) The leader will either peacefully relinquish control of the state, or be overrun by a power a new democratic union.

12) A democracy will be established in the country

These following steps have been followed by the French revolution. The Chinese and Russian revolutions are presently between steps 10 and 11. By extending the course of the revolutionary cycle, it is proven that a revolution is a good way to obtain a democracy in a country. The dictatorship is just a small intermediate step which helps the people to realize the need for a true democracy and not a pseudo-democracy as was imposed by the dictatorship. An important note about this revolutionary cycle is that it only applies to revolutions that occur within a country. Revolutions against an outside government generally follow a different cycle. Examples of revolutions against outside countries include the Mexican and American revolutions which both ended in an immediate democracy for and by the people.

Almost all revolutions with a good cause will eventually lead to victory for the cause, although might take a much longer period of time than others.