Political Science 663 R.A. Francisco
10:00 MWF Fall 2008, 109 Blake
Protest and Revolution
The course covers the
interaction of political dissidents and the state. It focuses on the process and strategy of conflict between
these two parties and among rebel groups. Major emphasis is on the collective
action problem of mobilizing rebels; repression of rebels by the state and its
effect on rebellion; changing tactics to elude harm; terrorism as adaptive
protest; post-revolutionary regime transition and civil war. Along the way we
will cover 13 examples of historical and modern rebellions and revolutions. We
both draw insights from these examples as well as apply propositions to them to
test their validity.
Office Hours
Conducted in 313 Blake on
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:00 to 10:00 and Mondays from 1:00-3:00
as well as by appointment. For an appointment, see or call me (864-9023). You
may reach me by e-mail at ronfran@ku.edu. This syllabus and a list of books for
the research paper are also on my home page (http://web.ku.edu/ronfran/). Click on
“protest bibliography”.
Text and
James DeFronzo. Revolutions and Revolutionary Movements.
Also purchase a packet of chapters from Jack A.
Goldstone, Ted R. Gurr, and Farrokh Moshiri. Revolutions of the Late Twentieth Century.
Recommended
readings appear in italics. They are not required.
Note that the required
readings are clustered principally about the real revolution and rebellion
lectures. No text exists at this level that reflects the way that this course
is taught. My method is based on recent research, too recent to bring its innovation
into a textbook. Therefore class attendance is important.
Examinations and Grading
There will be three in-class
examinations of the short essay/identification type. Two of these occur during
the semester, with one in the final examination period. Anyone who cannot be
there on 18 December for the third exam should drop the course. Each
examination is worth 25 percent of the final grade. The research paper constitutes
the final 25 percent. Graduate students in political science are exempted from
the third examination. Research papers constitute 50 percent of graduate
student grades. Any student with a disability that affects test writing and
note taking should notify me for accommodation.
Research Assignment
Choose a real historical
conflict and study it. Select one from the list I provide or convince me to let
you pursue your favorite conflict. First write a narrative history, i.e., trace
it over time. Note who fought whom, why they fought, how the rebels mobilized
more people, what the state did in response, and how the conflict evolved and
was resolved. Then develop a section to the paper analyzing the conflict, using
the propositions you obtain from the course, e.g., what were the relative
strategies of the rebel group and the state as the conflict evolved? Include a
chronology and attempt to note 1) how many people were mobilized on each date
of protest or interaction; 2) how many police, troops, or supporters the state
mobilized against the protesters; 3) the casualties (including arrests and
executions) suffered by each side; and 4) the outcome (what happened?). Do not
use the discredited conjectures we present in this course, e.g., Gurr, Tilly
and Skocpol. Due Wednesday, 10 December at 4:00 pm. Late papers lose one letter
grade per day.
F 22 August Organizational Meeting
Introduction
M 25 August Traditional Study of Revolutions vs. Modern
Analysis
DeFronzo, Chapter 1
Goldstone, pp. 4-20.
Related
music: Indigo Girls, “Dear Mr. President”; Sheryl Crow, “Out of Our Heads”
W 27 August Jan Revolution 1:
DeFronzo, pp. 33-55.
Theories of Protest and
Coercion
F 29 August The Relative Deprivation Explanation of
Protest
Goldstone, pp. 20-23.
Ted Robert
Gurr, Why Men Rebel, 1970
James
B. Rule, Theories of Civil Violence, 1988, Chapter 7
Related
music: Los Lobos, “Will the World Survive”; Billy Joel, “
M 1 September Labor Day:
No class
W 3 September The Resource Mobilization Challenge
Goldstone, pp. 23-26.
Charles Tilly,
From Mobilization to Revolution, 1978
James B. Rule,
Theories of Civil Violence, 1988, Chapter 6
F 5 September The Structural Theory of Revolution:
Peasants Monitor Commodity Prices!
Goldstone, pp. 26-36.
Theda Skocpol,
States and Social Revolutions, 1979
Alexander J.
Motyl, “Concepts and Skocpol: Ambiguity and Vagueness in the Study of Revolution.”
Journal of Theoretical Politics 4:1 (January 1992): 93-112.
M 8 September Why Rebel? The Collective Action Problem
Mark I.
Lichbach, The Rebel’s Dilemma, 1995, Chapters 1 and 2.
Related
music: Tracy Chapman, “Talkin’ ‘Bout a Revolution”
W 10 September Solutions to the Rebel’s Dilemma
Mark I.
Lichbach, The Rebel’s Dilemma, 1995, Chapters 3-6.
Context and Protest
F 12 September Revolution 2:
DeFronzo, Chapter 3
M 15 September Autocracy vs. Democracy
Related
music: Elvis Costello, “What’s So Funny About Peace, Love, and Understanding?”;
Bob Dylan, “
Repressing Dissent
W 17 September Revolution 3:
DeFronzo, Chapter 7.
F 19 September Threaten and Use Violence
Karen Rasler, “Concessions, Repression, and Political
Protest in the Iranian Revolution.” American Sociological Review 61 (September
1996): 132-152.
Related
music: Kim & Reggie Harris, “Those Three are on my Mind”; Arlo Guthrie,
“1913 Massacre”
M 22 September Threaten and Use Economic and Psychological
Repression
W 24 September Rebellion 1:
F 26 September First Examination
Overcoming Repression
M 29 September Revolution 4:
DeFronzo, pp. 55-82.
Related
music: Scorpions, “Winds of Change”
W 1 October Leadership
F 3 October Clandestine Mobilization and Power in
Numbers
James DeNardo,
Power in Numbers. Princeton:
M 6 October.
Patrons at Home and Abroad
W 8 October Revolution 5:
Goldstone, Chapter 9.
F 10 October Adaptation and Coevolution
M 13 October Rebellion 2: Northern Ireland, 1968-2003
Related
music: The Cranberries, “Zombie”; Bap Kennedy, “Shankhill to the Falls”; Judy
Collins, “The Patriot Game”; The Dubliners, “A Nation Once Again; Wild Colonial
Bhoys, “Fields of Athenry”; The Wolf Tones, “Follow Me Up to Carlow”; The
Clancy Brothers, “Four Green Fields”
W 15 October Terror
DeFronzo, Chapter 8
Related
music: Bruce Springsteen, “The Rising”
F 17 October Fall Break:
no class
M 20 October Rebellion 3: Palestinian Intifada I,
1987-1994
Goldstone, Chapter 13.
W 22 October After the Massacre: Mobilization in the
Wake of Harsh Repression
Related
music: U2, “Sunday Bloody Sunday”; Dixie Chicks, “Not Ready to Make Nice”;
Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez, “Fireflies”
F 24 October Riots as Political Protest
Related
music: Ice Cube, “Black Korea”; Gordon Lightfoot, “Black Day in July”
M 27 October Why are Revolutions “Stable”?
W 29 October Second Examination
F 31 October Revolution 6:
DeFronzo, Chapter 5
Related
music: Jon Secada, “I’m Free”; Don Henley, “All She Wants to Do is Dance”
Stalemate
M 3
November Revolution 7:
Goldstone, Chapter 8.
W 5 November Civil War
Roy Licklider, “The
Consequences of Negotiated Settlements in Civil Wars, 1945-1993.” American Political Science Review
89:3 (September 1995): 681-690.
Related
music: Peter, Paul and Mary, “
F 7 November Partition/1968
M 10 November Rebellion 4: 1968
Related
music:
Revolution and Regime
Transition
W 12 November Revolution 7:
DeFronzo, Chapter 4.
Related
music: CCR, “Who’ll Stop the Rain?”; Phil Ochs, “Draft Dodger Rag”; Joan
Baez/Judy Collins, “Song for David”; Jimmy Cliff, “
F 14 November Revolution 8:
DeFronzo,
Chapter 6.
Related
music: U2, “Pride in the Name of Love”; Jackson Browne, “Life in the Balance”
M 17 November Institutional Design
W 19 November Revolution 9: South Africa, 1984-1994
DeFronzo, Chapter 9
Related
music: Tom Paxton, “The Death of Stephen Biko”; Paul Simon, “Diamonds on the
Soles of Her Shoes”; Special AKA, “Free Nelson Mandela”; Johnny Clegg and
Savuka, “One Man One Vote”
F 21 November Pacted Democratization
Guiseppe
DiPalma, To Craft Democracies: An
Essay on Democratic Transitions, 1991.
M 24 November The Problem of the Military
Related
music: Buffy St. Marie, “Universal Soldier”
W 26 November Thanksgiving:
No class
F 28 November Thanksgiving:
No class
M 1 December The Politics of Economic Restructuring
W 3 December Consolidation: Rebels become Regime
F 5 December Research and Writing Day: No Class
M 8 December Research and Writing Day: No Class
W 10 December Protests, Revolutions, and Outcomes: Toward
an Integrated Theory
DeFronzo, Chapter 10/ Research Papers due, 4:00 pm
R 18 December Third Examination, 8:30 am
Research Paper Topics
Revolutions
American (1776)
Austrian (1848)
Bolivian (1952)
Bulgarian (1989)
Chinese (1911 or1948)
Cuban (1959)
Czechoslovakian (1989)
East German (1989)
English (1640)
Eritrean (1962-1993)
French (1789, 1830 or 1848)
German (1848)
Greek (1821-1827)
Guatemalan (1954)
Hungarian (1848-1849)
Iranian (1906 or 1979)
Indian (1920s-1940s)
Italian (1848)
Italian fascist (1919-1925)
Kenyan (1950-1956)
Mexican (1910-1911)
Nicaraguan (1979)
Philippine (1986)
Romanian (1989)
Russian (1905 or 1917 [February or October] or 1992)
Spanish (1820)
Protest and Rebellion
Algerian war against the French (1954-1962)
Armristar (
Austrian worker rising (1927 or 2/12/1934)
Bavarian November rebellion (1918-1919)
Belgian riots (1830)
Berlin Spartakus rebellion (1918-1919)
Biafran rebellion (Nigeria, 1967-1970)
Black Panther Party (1966-1974)
Boxer rebellion in
Chechan conflict in
Chinese student rebellion (1989)
Czech Prague Spring rebellion (1968)
Czech Charter 77 movement (1977-1989)
Dutch rebellion against Napoleon (1811-1813)
East German uprising (1953)
Eldora dos Carajás,
El Mozote massacre (12/11/1981)
English rising (1381)
French May events (1968)
The Fronde (France, 1648-1653)
German Liebknecht/Luxemburg rebellion (1919)
Gordon (
Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot (1605)
Haitian slave rebellion (1791)
Haymarket riot (
Hungarian uprising (1956)
Irish rising (1798, 1867 or 1916)
Israeli army massacre in Dweima (10/28/1948)
Jack Cade’s rebellion (15th century,
Jamaican freedmen rising (1865)
John Brown’s seizure of Harper’s Ferry (10/16/1859)
Kronstadt (USSR) sailor rising (2/28/1921)
Levellers (
Liberian civil war (1990-1993)
Luddite riots,
Mexican (
Molly Maguires (1877)
Palestinian Intifada
(1987-1994)
Palestinian Intifada II (2000-2001)
Pilgrimage of Grace (
Quantrill’s raid on
Sandino insurrection in
Satsuma samurai
rising (1877)
Seattle WTO anti-globalization protest (2000)
Shay’s rebellion (1786-1787)
Slachtenek rebellion in
Solidarity (
South African campaign (1950-1994)
Southern (
Spanish civil war (1931-1939)
Stonewall gay rising, NY (1969)
Taiping rebellion in
Tamil rebellion in
Tepehuan Revolt (
U.S. Civil Rights movement (1960s)
U.S. Militia movement (1990s)
U.S. Suffrage movement (1890s-1919)
Whiskey rebellion (1794)
Terror
Action Directe in
al-Qaeda (1990s-2007)
Chechen terror
Corsican Liberation Front
ETA (Basques)
HAMAS in
Ku Klux Klan (1920s-1960s)
Official Irish Republican Army
Islamic Front in Algeria/Egypt (1990s)
Israeli terror in 1940s & 1950s
Lord’s Liberation Army (
LTTE campaign in
Mau Mau rebellion in
Protestant Loyalists (UFF & UVF) in
Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA, 1968-2005)
Red Army Faction/Baader-Meinhoff gang in
Red Brigade terror campaign in
Sendero Luminoso in
Loyalists in
Weather Underground terror campaign (1969-1973)
Wounded-Knee occupation (1973)