Revolution from above
Revolution from above is a concept of historical science that describes fundamental reforms on the part of the rulers who are to avert a revolution feared by them , or which describes a fundamental change in the political-social structure taking place under state control without a supporting mass movement ( Michael Stürmer , 1975) . The term was coined in the 19th century by Friedrich Engels and taken up by German history in the 1970s, in particular by Hans-Ulrich Wehler , Ernst Engelberg and Michael Stürmer. Revolutions from above are common in German history .
Revolutions from above in German history
- Enlightened absolutism in Prussia
- General Land Law for the Prussian States , 1794
- Prussian reforms (“peasant liberation”, town order, etc.), 1807/1812
- Constitution imposed on Prussia , 1850/1
- Forging an Empire , 1871
- Bismarck's social legislation , 1883–85
- Parliamentary decree and transition to the Weimar Republic (“alliances”), 1918
- Presidential Cabinets, 1930–33
- Fascist rule as “making the executive independent”, 1933–45
- Formation of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, 1945–49
- German reunification , 1990
Revolutions from Above in Soviet History
- Holodomor - Stalin purposefully and deliberately starved millions of people in 1932.
- In the context of the de-Stalinization , Khrushchev and other functionaries of the CPSU tried to soften or break up the structures created by Stalinism (see also thaw period )
literature
- Hans-Ulrich Wehler: The German Empire 1871-1918 . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1973
- Ernst Engelberg: About the revolution from above. Reality and Concept . In: ZfG . 22, 1974. p. 1183
- Michael Stürmer: Beyond the nation state. Comments on the German continuity problem . In: Politics and Culture . H. 3/4, 1975. pp. 119-139