A revolutionary wave is a series of revolutions occurring in various locations. In many cases, an initial revolution inspires other "affiliate revolutions" with similar aims.^[1] The storming of the Bastille, 14 July 1789 during the French Revolution. ...

The concept is important to Marxists, who see a revolutionary waves as evidence that a world revolution is possible. For Rosa Luxemburg, "The most precious thing...in the sharp ebb and flow of the revolutionary waves is the proletariat's spiritual growth. The advance by leaps and – bounds of the intellectual stature of the proletariat affords an inviolable guarantee of its further progress in the inevitable economic and political struggles ahead."^[2] Marxism is the political practice and social theory based on the works of Karl Marx, a 19th century philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary, along with Friedrich Engels. ... World revolution is a Marxist concept of a violent overthrow of capitalism that would take place in all countries, although not necessarily simultaneously. ... Rosa Luxemburg Rosa Luxemburg (March 5, 1870 or 1871 – January 15, 1919, in Polish Róża Luksemburg) was a Polish-born German Jewish Marxist political theorist, socialist philosopher, and revolutionary. ...

Examples given of revolutionary waves include:

• A wave occurring at the end of the eighteenth century, including the American Revolution, the French Revolution and the Haitian Revolution.
• The Latin American Wars of Independence, including the South American Wars of Independence of 1810-25, the Mexican War of Independence of 1810-21, and the Central American declaration of independence of September 15, 1821.
• The Revolutions of 1830.
• The Revolutions of 1848.
• The Revolutions of 1917-23, including the Bolshevik Revolution.
• A minor wave in the mid-1930s, including the Spanish Revolution.

• A wave (or perhaps a series of waves) occurring at the end of World War II.

Arguably, especially in the case of communist states during the Cold War, there has been a regional wave following each succesful seizure of power in a given area of the world. For example, This article is the current Esperanza Collaboration of the Month. ... The French Revolution (1789–1799/1804) was a vital period in the history of French, European and Western civilization. ... Combatants Haiti France Commanders Toussaint LOuverture Jean-Jacques Dessalines Charles Leclerc vicomte de Rochambeau Strength Regular army: up to 55,000 Volunteers: up to 100,000 Regular army: 60,000 86 warships and frigates Casualties Unknown military deaths Civilian deaths: up to 100,000 5,000-6,000 dead... The South American Wars of Independence were fought in the 1810s and 1820s by colonies of Spain and Portugal that desired to break free from the nations that ruled them. ... 1810 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway 1825 (MDCCCXXV) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The Mexican War of Independence (1810-1821), which started on September 16, 1810, was Mexicos struggle for independence from Spanish colonial rule. ... 1810 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The coronation banquet for George IV 1821 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... // Before European Contact In pre-Columbian times, most of modern Central America was part of the Mesoamerican civilization. ... September 15 is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years). ... The coronation banquet for George IV 1821 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix commemorates the July Revolution Episode of the Belgian Revolution of 1830, Egide Charles Gustave Wappers (1834), in the Musée dArt Ancien, Brussels The nineteenth century is marked in Europe by a set of civil wars which marks the wake of... The European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations or the Year of Revolution, were a revolutionary wave which erupted in Sicily and then, further triggered by the revolutions of 1848 in France, soon spread to the rest of Europe and as far afield as... The Revolutions of 1917-23 formed a revolutionary wave precipitated by the Russian Revolutions of 1917 and the end of World War I. Some authorities date the wave as ending in 1919 or 1921. ... The October Revolution, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was the second phase of the Russian Revolution, the first having been instigated by the events around the February Revolution. ... In Spanish history, there have been several revolutions. ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... This article is about one-party states ruled by Communist Parties. ... For other uses, please see Cold War (disambiguation). ...

• Two major waves in East Asia and Southeast Asia: one after World War II and the Chinese Civil War, including the Korean War, the First Indochina War, the Huks' uprising in the Philippines and the Malay Emergency; another 1960s-1970s wave parallels the Chinese Cultural Revolution and the Second Indochina War and includes the Cambodian Civil War, the Laotian Civil War and the efforts of the New People's Army in the Philippines.
• Two major waves in Latin America: one after the Cuban Revolution in 1959, another following the Nicaraguan Revolution in 1979.
• A substantial wave in Africa, cresting in the 1970s, including the communist revolutions in Congo-Brazzaville, Dahomey/Benin and Ethiopia; the fight of the communist parties allied under CONCP against the Portuguese Empire in the Portuguese Colonial War; as well as the the anti-apartheid struggle, the South African Border War and the Rhodesian Bush War.
• The Protests of 1968, including the May 1968 events in France, in a New Left echo of the contemporary waves elsewhere during the Cold War.

• The rise of Islamic fundamentalism since the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
• The Revolutions of 1989 against the crumbling Soviet empire.
• The Color Revolutions, starting in 2000.

East Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms. ... Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... Combatants Chinese Nationalists Chinese Communists Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Mao Zedong Strength 4,300,000 (July 1946) 3,650,000 (June 1948) 1,490,000 (June 1949) 1,200,000 (July 1946) 2,800,000 (June 1948) 4,000,000 (June 1949) The Chinese Civil War (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese... Combatants United Nations: Republic of Korea United States United Kingdom Canada Australia The Netherlands France Philippines Turkey Ethiopia Communist states: Democratic People’s Republic of Korea People’s Republic of China Soviet Union Commanders Syngman Rhee Chung Il Kwon Douglas MacArthur Mark W. Clark Matthew Ridgway Kim Il-sung Choi... Combatants French Colonialists Việt Minh Strength 500,000  ? Casualties 94,581 dead 78,127 wounded 40,000 captured 300,000+ dead 500,000+ wounded 100,000 captured The First Indochina War (also called the French Indochina War, the French War or the Franco-Vietnamese War) was fought in Indochina... The Hukbalahap was the militant arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), formed in 1942 to fight the Japanese occupation in the Philippines during World War II. The term is a contraction of the Filipino term Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa mga Hapon which means Army of the... Combatants United Kingdom Australia New Zealand British colonies Federation of Malaya Rhodesia Fiji various British East African colonies Malayan Communist Party Strength 250,000 Malayan Home Guard troops 40,000 regular Commonwealth personnel 37,000 Special Constables 24,000 Federation Police up to 8,000 MRLA (peaking in 1951) up... The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... A poster during the Cultural Revolution The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (Simplified Chinese: 无产阶级文化大革命; Traditional Chinese: 無產階級文化大革命; pinyin: w chǎn jiē j n hu ng, literally Proletarian Cultural Great Revolution; often... The Vietnam War was a war fought between 1957 and 1975 on the ground in South Vietnam and bordering areas of Cambodia and Laos (See Secret War) and in bombing runs (Rolling Thunder) over North Vietnam. ... Combatants Khmer Republic, United States, Republic of Vietnam Khmer Rouge, Democratic Republic of Vietnam, National Liberation Front of South Vietnam (NLF) Strength ~250,000 FANK troops ~100,000 (60,000) Khmer Rouge Casualties ~600,000 dead, 1,000,000+ wounded[1] The Cambodian Civil War was a conflict that pitted... Combatants Kingdom of Laos, United States, Thailand, and various guerilla armies. ... The New Peoples Army, or NPA, is a communist-based revolutionary group in the Philippines, formed in March 29, 1969. ... Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... The Cuban Revolution was the overthrow of Fulgencio Batista’s regime by the 26th of July Movement and the establishment of a new Cuban government led by Fidel Castro in the 1950s. ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sandinista! is also the name of a popular music album by The Clash. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... It has been suggested that Proletarian revolution be merged into this article or section. ... Dahomey was a kingdom in Africa, situated in what is now the nation of Benin. ... A Communist party is a party which promotes Communism. ... Conferência das Organizações Nacionalistas das Colónias Portuguesas (Conference of Nationalist Organizations of the Portuguese Colonies), an organization for cooperation between the communist parties in the national liberation movements in the Portuguese colonies in Africa throughout the Portuguese Colonial War. ... Maximum extent of Portuguese colonial possessions in the 16th century. ... Combatants Portugal Angola: MPLA, UNITA, FNLA Guinea-Bissau: PAIGC Mozambique: FRELIMO Strength ? ? Casualties ? ? The Portuguese Colonial War (1961-1974), also known there as Ultramar War (Ultramar meaning overseas) was the result of Portuguese military reaction to the nationalist movements and armed rebellions that emerged in Portugals African colonies. ... A segregated beach in South Africa, 1982. ... Combatants Republic of Angola, Republic of Cuba, SWAPO, USSR, GDR, Republic of Zambia Republic of South Africa, UNITA Scope of operations The South African Border War refers to the conflict that took place from 1966 to 1989 in South-West Africa (now Namibia) and Angola between South Africa and its... Combatants Rhodesia Zimbabwe African National Union Zimbabwe African Peoples Union ZIPRA Commanders Ian Smith ZANU: Robert Mugabe ZAPU: Joshua Nkomo Casualties unknown unknown Civilians killed = unknown The Rhodesian Bush War (now officially called the Second Chimurenga by the Mugabe regime,) was a conflict in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) between the... The protests of 1968 consisted of a worldwide series of protests, largely led by students and workers. ... A May 1968 poster: Be young and shut up, with the stereotypical silhouette of the General de Gaulle. ... The New Left is a term used in political discourse to refer to radical left-wing movements from the 1960s onwards. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Islamism. ... Protestors take to the street in support of Ayatollah Khomeini. ... The Revolutions of 1989, sometimes called the Autumn of Nations, were the series of events in Central and Eastern Europe in the autumn of 1989, when various Soviet-style Communist governments were overthrown in the space of a few months[1]. The name of this event refers to the Revolutions... Soviet Empire was a controversial, politically charged and pejorative term used to critically describe the actions and nature of the Soviet Union. ... Colour revolutions or Flower revolutions are the names given collectively to a series of related movements that developed in post-communist societies in Central and Eastern Europe and are possibly spreading elsewhere including some places in the Middle East. ... This article is about the year 2000. ...

See also

• Waves of democracy

The history of democracy traces back from its origins in ancient world to its re-emergence and rise from the 17th century to the present day. ...

References

1. ^ Mark N. Katz, Revolution and Revolutionary Waves
2. ^ Rosa Luxemburg, Gesammelte Werke, quoted in Tony Cliff, Patterns of mass strike (Part 1)