Review 5: States and Social Revolutions: A Comparative Analysis of France, Russia, and by

Theda Skocpol (1979) Part 2

Dilek Zehra Çetinkaya

While Part 1 of the book analyzed the causes of crises, Part 2 continues with showing what
French, Chinese, and Russian Revolutions changed in the society and why changes formed
within those revolutionary situations. This part explains if there are any shared patterns
among these three revolutions. While explaining the process and results, this part also tries to
understand the creation of new state organizations. According to Skocpol, evolutions affect
people’s life moreover it deeply changes the structure and function of states.

First similarity among those three revolutions is how peasant revolt role while upper class
losing the control over the peasants therefore new state organization got more rationalized.
This new structure is effective inside and powerful in international area. Second, for the
differences, where France had bureaucratic state with national markets and private property
after revolution, Russia had hierarchical state. Where Russia had party led state and control
over national economy, China had centralized and bureaucratic with army organizations had
control over all society.

Skocpol starts the fourth chapter with her political leadership description that is state builders
rather than representatives of classes. Peasants revolting against the landlords led agrarian
class relation to change. In all those revolutions, the upper class lost lower class control and
being part of the new structure. The revolutionary leaderships that were emerged during the
French, Russian, and Chinese Revolutions were state-building leaderships. In the second part
of the fourth chapter, Skocpol talked about revolutionary ideologies. Why revolutionary
leadership had specific kinds of state structure? She says, leaderships and ideologies produce
the nature of revolution and its results. Three revolutions did different things, had different
regimes from their former intentions ideologically.

In the next chapter, she explains the French Revolution and how modern France occurred
after that revolution. Skocpol criticizes Marxist “social interpretation” (p.174) which explains
revolution was led by the upper-middle class. Marxist emphasis the bourgeoisie creating a
way the feudal hierarchy with mode of production. In time, France become a capitalist
industrial government. The structure who held the situation after revolution in France was not
the industrial class but bureaucrats, owners of any other classes had opportunity to be part of
the state.
In chapter 6, Skocpol is explaining the Russian revolution by describing most complete
modern social revolutions. Workers, peasants, and soldiers came together in revolution
against the capitalist classes and tsarist regime. The leaders of this revolution were in
socialisms ideas of equality and proletarian democracy. The tsarist regime was replaced with
councils. The peasant issue appeared in emerging of the Red Army. The Russian Army had to
be built from bottom-up after the old Imperial armies disappeared. The majority of the Red
Army was formed with peasants. State controlled the economy during the civil war years
After the October Revolution took place, control went to administrative structure. Under this
new regime the people could accomplish more without social oppression; this regime was far
more effective and coordinated than the tsar. This new communist regime also brought the
elimination of noble, equality in jobs, education.

In The 7th chapter, Skocpol explains the China Revolution. Old Regime of China was
autocratic and semi bureaucratic. New regime made Communist China party state. It is
decentralized, mass incorporating, more rationalized and bureaucratic. New regime devoted to
promoting participation. However, they somehow keep some part of old regime like gentry
landlords, warlords, and the importance of the peasants.

References
Skocpol, T. (1979). States and Social Revolutions: A Comparative Analysis of France,
Russia, and China. Cambridge University Press.