What’s in a Revolution?

Since the advent of the so-called Arab Spring in 2011, the word “revolution”, not unlike the word “terrorism”, is being used rather carelessly and applied to anything that looks like social unrest (Turkey and Brazil come to mind). It is however used properly when describing the situation in Egypt, Syria, Tunisia and many other Arab countries. Still, this does not mean that we actually understand what „revolution“ means.

Historians have turned revolutions into moments: American revolution of 1776; French revolution of 1789; People’s Spring of 1848; Russian revolutions of 1917; or the East European revolution of 1989. This perception tends to tell us that a revolution is a short burst, a sudden uprising leading to a change in government or power structure. Hence, we are now describing the events in Egypt and Tunisia as a second revolution rather than what it is: the ongoing development of the revolution itself.

Many have studied the concept of revolution and revolutions themselves. 20th century politics are based on the concept of revolution (Marxism anyone?). But the scientists and philosophers that examined this issue have limited themselves to a narrow time frame rather than look at its full process. Which is why we have difficulties framing the current situation in the Arab world and already using terms like success and failure of what only began in 2011.

Shortly after the recent coup in Egypt – yes, it is a coup – the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit published an editorial correctly stating that Europeans needed many chances to achieve democracy and that it is not the place of Europeans to point a finger at Egyptians right now. While this may be true, Gero von Randow’s analysis still did not describe the revolutionary process as a lengthy, unique one.

The situation in Egypt and the emerging one in Tunisia are simply part of the natural process of a revolution, the same type of procedure that we have witnessed throughout history – which means the full revolutionary process in the Middle East will also take about three generations i.e. 80 to 90 years to be completed.

So what is a revolution if it takes this long? A revolution is the process by which the fundamental perceptions of power and its structure have been fully, and willingly, integrated by a vast majority of a society’s members. The ideas and values that spawned the revolution have been normalized by society. It is an extremely violent and painful process, a tug-of-war between various perceptions and interpretations of what is right and wrong. Exactly what we are witnessing in Egypt today.

United against tyranny to overthrow various dictators in 2011, the revolutionaries did not worry about what their comrades did or believed. Secular or religious, left or right, these issues carried no significance to their struggle for a better life and freedom. However, as it became time to discuss what the new political structure should look like, these views became predominant and defined the power struggle at the heart of the post-insurgency reconstruction.

Not unlike Robespierre, Danton, Lenin or Ataturk, Morsi chose an intransigent approach to politics by imposing the views of the Muslim Brotherhood rather than employing a more conciliatory and inclusive approach. And like in France or Russia, the army stepped in to ensure that the values of the revolution be maintained. In France it led to Napoleon, in Russia to Stalin and in Egypt? Well, we’ll see if General Sisi takes that road.

The point is, the natural process of a revolution is exactly what is occurring in the Arab world at this point and time, with uprisings that turn into civil wars and spill over to other regions, as we are witnessing in Syria. There is also a counter-revolutionary movement, more conservative, and they are not powerless, nor will they stand idly by during this revolutionary period.

The American revolution arguably came to an end with the civil war or the civil rights movement of the 1960s. The French revolution saw its completion with the advent of the Third Republic. The Russian revolution was never truly completed and collapsed in 1991, while the revolution undertaken in 1989 is still ongoing in all of the former communist states, including Germany. And we can only speculate what will happen upon the death of Fidel Castro in Cuba.

The revolution of the Arab Spring is now entering the second phase of its development and because it is a generations-long process, we must remain cautious in our assessments and labeling of the situation. Success or failure are still a long way off, no matter how much we want to understand the events as such.