Revolution
“Revolution” is often used to describe rapid change or widespread unrest. In practice, a revolution is defined less by speed or intensity than by whether authority is transferred outside existing institutional rules.
Definition
Revolution refers to a fundamental transfer of political authority that occurs outside established legal or institutional processes, replacing one governing order with another.
Technical meaning vs common usage
Technical meaning:
A break in constitutional or legal continuity in which existing authority structures are displaced rather than amended.
Common usage:
Any dramatic change, protest movement, or sharp policy shift.
How the term gets stretched or misused
Applied to reforms that occur within existing legal frameworks
Used interchangeably with protest, rebellion, or resistance
Framed by scale or emotion rather than authority change
Treated as inevitable once dissatisfaction is widespread
Where the power sits
Power in revolutionary moments shifts when control over enforcement, legitimacy, and decision-making moves outside existing institutions. Armies, courts, bureaucracies, and revenue systems are decisive—not public sentiment alone. A revolution succeeds only when these levers realign under new authority.
This does not mean…
All mass movements are revolutions
Change happens instantly
Outcomes are unified or stable
Popular support guarantees authority transfer
Why precision matters
When revolution is treated as a synonym for upheaval, analysis fixates on intensity rather than structure. Precision clarifies why some uprisings lead to durable regime change while others collapse or revert: authority must move, not just opposition.
Neutrality note
This definition describes revolution as a transfer of governing authority outside established systems, not as an endorsement or critique of revolutionary movements, methods, or outcomes.
Related HISW
Words Matter: Reform
Sources
Sources below explain revolution as a break in legal continuity and authority structures.
Encyclopaedia Britannica — Revolution (2023) https://www.britannica.com/topic/revolution-politics
Skocpol, Theda — States and Social Revolutions (1979) https://www.jstor.org/stable/1972385