When we think of “revolution” four are likely to come
immediately to mind: French, American,
"Pots and Pans" Revolution, Iceland
Russian, and Chinese. This is
unsurprising, given that these four revolutions receive a lot of attention in
our history books and our education system.
They were also violent revolutions.
In France, an estimated 20,000 men and women were
killed during the Reign of Terror. In less than five days during the
1792 September massacres at least 1,500 people were killed at the hands of
Parisian mobs.
In America it is estimated that 6,800 Americans were
killed in the war itself, with a further 17,000 dying from disease because of
the war (12,000 of these as Prisoners of War.) On the British side, there were
some 24,000 casualties.
The Russian Revolution saw massive deaths, with up to
10 million lives being lost, the majority of these being civilians.
China’s revolution resulted in more than 700,000
combatants killed, and up to 3 million casualties. A further 3 million
civilians also were either killed or maimed.
Now, I ask you: which are the four countries in the
world who are the largest arms exporters?
If you answered, the U.S.A., Russia, France, and China
you would be correct. Between them they account for almost three-quarters of
the world’s arms exports. The U.S. leads with 40%, followed by Russia (16%), France
(11%), and China (5%.) In 2022, this trade contributed to global military
spending of $2.2 trillion.1
Is it a coincidence that the four major violent
revolutions took place in the same countries that now dominate the world trade
in armaments?
This question may be unanswerable, although it would
seem plausible that a nation founded upon violence would go on to be a large
player in the global arms trade.
Furthermore, perhaps it is no coincidence that
conflict (both inter-national and intra-national) continues to default to
violent means, when most of our history lessons continue to give precedence to
the four “big” (violent) revolutions.
Yet, there are dozens of examples, worldwide, of
nonviolent revolutions. These get little attention in our history, and hence in
our consciousness. Fascinatingly, many of these nonviolent revolutions are
known by imaginative and colourful names – attesting to the creativity with
which nonviolence lends itself to. To name but a few: the Velvet (Gentle)
Revolution in Czechoslovakia (as it was then named,) the Rose Revolution in
Georgia, or the Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan, and Orange Revolution in
Ukraine (inspired by the Rose Revolution.) The Baltic states ousted their Soviet
Union authorities with a Singing Revolution. The most intriguingly named
revolution is the Pots and Pans (or Kitchenware) Revolution in Iceland during
2009-11, named after demonstrators banged pots and pans outside the Althing
(Icelandic parliament.)
Notes:
1. SIPRI Yearbook 2023,
published 11 June 2023. SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute)
is the world’s leading peace disarmament, arms control, and conflict resolution
research institute. It was founded in 1966.
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