Chapter 4: Democratic Revolutions?: Interdisciplinary Insights on Social Stability and Social Change in Psychology and Political Science

This quotation from Eric Hoffer’s classic The True Believer (1951, p. 11) wonderfully captures a number of elements coloring current discussions around the notion of “revolution” within both political science and psychology. It speaks poetically to both the fear of, and the real dangers posed by, revolution.We chose to begin with this quotation, as it speaks to a broader issue of value to both social/political psychologists and political scientists, namely the notion of large-scale, systemic change. Hoffer distinguishes between periods of change and periods of stability, and importantly, also between intentions and outcomes. Similar insights can now be seen in both political science and psychology regarding changes to political systems. In this chapter, we will examine what we can learn from these developments regarding the emergence and development of democracy.