Vom Anfang und Ende der Revolution

The political revolutions in the modern and present age are, in essence, democratic revolutions. They are based on a shift in the rightful source of political authority: from a sacred principle of legitimacy to the principle of popular sovereignty. By means of a multi-dimensional concept of political legitimacy it becomes possible to grasp the historical preconditions of modern revolutions and the reasons for its rare occurrence, as well as the possibility of its institutionalizationin liberal democracy and the future of revolution at the “end of history”. Historical-empirical case studies on the Chinese, Mexican and Iranian revolution serve to reveal the underlying system of causes and accelerators on the one hand, and the at first sight contradictory but characteristic course of revolutions on the other hand.