Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T04:12:02.551Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 10 - The Illusion-Motivation Model of Revolution

from Part IV - Reevaluating Revolutions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 March 2024

Fathali M. Moghaddam
Affiliation:
Georgetown University
Get access

Summary

The Illusion-Motivation Model of Revolution is presented in this chapter. The term “illusion” is not used here to suggest anything negative; it is simply referencing the normal human tendency to be influenced by illusions in everyday life. Five major illusions characterize the behavior of people engaged in a revolutionary movement. The supreme revolutionary illusion is the shared belief among those in a revolutionary movement that all of them will benefit in equal ways from the coming to power of the new revolutionary government. The illusion of unity results in differences within the revolutionary movement being overlooked. The illusion of rationality is in effect after regime change, and it is based on the assumption that a rational approach will yield the necessary positive results. The illusion of control characterizes the extremists who in the post-revolution period topple the moderates and come to power, believing that they can control and change mass behavior in line with their goals. Finally, the illusion of permanence is shared by extremist leaders and their regimes, in the belief that their revolutionary society will last forever.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×