Times of Radical Discord: A Study of the American and French Revolutions in Search of Lessons for Contemporary Civil Military Relations
Abstract
Comparison of the American and French Revolutions demonstrates that the less radical the characteristics of revolution, the easier it is to maintain the civil-military bond, which prevents tyranny and leads to representative government. The American Revolution demonstrates varying levels of radicalism, but is no match compared to the radicalism demonstrated in the French Revolution. The unique colonial and early national bond between the American founding generation and the continental army, shaped by the colonial experience, appears to have a buffering affect on the radical ideas, methods, and violence expressed in this example of revolution. The French experience, on the other hand, appears to repeatedly lack buffers to limit the expressions of radicalism and maintain reining stability. Once they take the plunge, it is too late. The resulting radicalism of the ideas, method, and nightmarish level of violence in the French Revolution propels the restructured nation into a tyrannical government, which seems the only way to regain stability
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 03, 2020
- Accession Number
- AD1177677
Entities
People
- Justin A Frickie
Organizations
- Marine Corps University