democratic revolution
People's power shift
A democratic revolution is an uprising or political transformation that replaces authoritarian rule with popular sovereignty—government by the people.
The term covers both violent overthrows and peaceful mass movements that establish democratic institutions: The Arab Spring began as a series of democratic revolutions.
Some usage emphasizes the process (popular mobilization against tyranny), while other usage emphasizes the outcome (constitutional democracy, free elections).
Historically associated with the American and French revolutions, the phrase now applies broadly to transitions from dictatorship to democracy.
- insurrectionViolent uprising against authority
- electionsFormal choosing of officials
- popular sovereigntyPopulace holds ultimate authority
- uprisingOrganized resistance to power
- mass mobilizationWidespread organized public activation
voting · political reform · reform · anti-imperialism · Arab Spring · universal suffrage · constitutionalism · anti-authoritarianism · anti-monarchism · human rights · liberalism · nationalist movements · sovereignty · republicanism · independence movement · grassroots activism · electoral reform · suffragette movement
- MongoliaGobi Desert, Inner Mongolia, steppe, Mongols, nomads
- Azores historyvolcanic islands, volcanic craters, Henry the Navigator, whaling industry, tea plantations
democratic revolutionmilitary coup
Armed seizure of government
coup d'état · palace coup · putsch · military junta · seizure of power
democratic revolutioncounterrevolution
Reversal of political upheaval
ancien régime · Bourbon Restoration · communist revolution · status quo · political repression
democratic revolutioncommunist revolution
Violent class-based regime change
Bolshevik Revolution · Iranian Revolution · counterrevolution · Reign of Terror
democratic, revolution, democracy, democrat, democracies, democrats, democratically, democratize, democratization