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Revolution and Counterrevolution in the Modern Age

Code: 100387 ECTS Credits: 6
2024/2025
Degree Type Year
2500501 History OT 4
2504216 Contemporary History, Politics and Economics OT 3
2504216 Contemporary History, Politics and Economics OT 4

Contact

Name:
David Alegre Lorenz
Email:
david.alegre@uab.cat

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

No requests needed


Objectives and Contextualisation

This course seeks to familiarize students with the genesis and evolution of the idea of revolution as a concept, but also as a foundational historical phenomenon of contemporaneity with two very evident meanings since its origins. The first is usually identified as an upheaval or alteration of the existing order, almost always associated with the use of violence and the attempt to conquer power by certain collective subjects excluded from decision-making, the means of production and the distribution of wealth. The second links revolution to a certain idea of reform or to an intended political, social, economic and/or cultural refoundation in order to adapt to the changing challenges and needs of contemporaneity itself, entailing some kind of substantial change in the structures of the state, the form and praxis of government.
 
Both types of revolution have almost always given rise to counterrevolutionary phenomena of great importance and with the capacity to question or halt the transformations proposed by each revolutionary process through diverse means, from political and cultural action to armed responses. In this sense, this course will also allow students to understand the counterrevolution as an essentially complex historical reality capable of adapting to very diverse environments. Among other things, we will see that it is a phenomenon that has had a place for the most diverse social and political subjects, who for different circumstances would have seen their social position, their way of being and their worldview threatened by the impact of the revolutionary transformations, or simply an opportunity to prosper by joining the counterrevolution. In this sense, this course will also allow students to understand the counterrevolution as an essentially complex historical reality, capable of adapting to very diverse environments. Among other things, we will see that it is a phenomenon where the most diverse social and political subjects have had a place, who for different circumstances would have seen their social position, their way of being and their worldview threatened due to the impact of the revolutionary transformations, or simply an opportunity to prosper by joining the counterrevolution.
 
It is undeniable the enormous capital of the idea of revolution as a tool of legitimization and discredit in contemporaneity, from the late eighteenth century to the present day, although the subject will focus mainly on the twentieth century. Often invoked to promote a sense of a new beginning, revolution has come to be claimed by subjects across the political spectrum in order to articulate their projects and construct their discourses, however contradictory the objectives pursued may be. At other times it has played the role of a scarecrow that embodies the greatest danger to the millenary legacy of civilization and all the values associated with it. In Block 1 of the course we will see different examples of both casuistry throughout contemporaneity. 
However, in many cases the idea of revolution has come hand in hand with modernization and reform projects, treated as attempts at regeneration promoted from above. Thus, these tend to take place in the context of acute political, social and economic crises, and it is not uncommon for them to be launched to avoid a revolution driven by sectors of society distanced from power or to try to compete on an equal footing in a competitive or threatening international scenario. Such would be the case of China and the self-proclaimed self-empowerment movement of the second half of the 19th century or the modernization process initiated by the Japanese authorities with the Meiji Restoration. In the first part of this course we will deal with these two cases, as well as the "Revolution" of the Young Turks in 1909 up to the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923.
 
In fact, as will be seen throughout the course, revolutions always tend to break out in the propitiatory framework of international conflicts. These generate the social-political tension and states of exception that usually explain the revolutionary outbreak and provide the scenario to deepen the transforming process that it brings with it. The paradigmatic case would be Russia in 1917, which opens the bulk of the syllabus of this subject together with the revolutionary sexennium that breaks out in different parts of Europe. It is not strange that these scenarios of questioning the established order give rise to different alternative projects of revolution that end up entering into conflict, as we see very clearly in the same Russian case with the Makhnovist revolution in eastern Ukraine, which will be dealt with in detail.
We will also see that, in many other cases, civil war and foreign military intervention are usually the result of the revolution, in order to put an end to the threat embodied by those sectors that would drive it. An unbeatable example would be the growth of communism legitimized by the armed resistance of its militants against occupation, fascism and collaborationism throughout World War II. The most obvious case in this respect would be the Yugoslavia cut up by the Axis, but also France and Belgium, which we will deal with in detail in block 3 of the course, in parallel to the construction of the Nazi New Order and the changing political balances to which it would give rise in the European counterrevolutionary space.
 
The revolutions and the counterrevolutionary phenomena resulting from them have been historical realities well framed in specific geographical and cultural coordinates, which is why this subject will place particular emphasis on the analysis of the contexts. However, it should be noted that they have also been characterized by their evident global nature, inasmuch as they have echoed throughout the world in a very diverse manner, conditioning the political life of an infinite number of different local spaces. Nor can we forget their transnational dimension, with both realities being traversed as they are by the political agenda and the participation of states, organizations and individuals outside the context in question, but determined to become involved for a multitude of reasons, contributing knowledge, resources and praxis. In this sense, blocks 4 and 5 of this course will start from these interpretative assumptions, analyzing the involvement of the United States as a counterrevolutionary agent, essentially in Indonesia, Argentina and Nicaragua, among other cases. As will be explained, Salazarist Portugal itself, faced with a bloody process of decolonization of its overseas possessions against different competing armed revolutionary organizations, will in turn deploy a very interventionist policy in a multitude of African scenarios in the 1960s and 1970s.
 
It should be noted that revolutions and counter-revolutions have ultimately been key processes in the construction of modern states. However, while the former have allowed the experimentation of different alternative models of organization, the latter have favored the penetration of big capital and the imposition of its interests through social and political disciplining. Throughout the course we will see how the different processes of emancipation and domination resulting from revolutions and counterrevolutions have been articulated, where the use of violence as a political weapon has played a prominent role. Unraveling the logics, praxis and actors that have characterized its implementation will be another of the objectives of the different sessions, given that the control and elimination of the enemy have generally been priorities in the eyes of revolutionaries and counterrevolutionaries in order to achieve the triumph of their projects.
Ultimately, the course will try to answer the question of whether continuities are more the norm than the exception throughout contemporaneity, sometimes even in historical frameworks of revolutionary change. The last block of the course, which will focus on the origins, development and exit of the Arab Spring, will serve to close the course by placing this issue at the center. It will also allow us to reflect on the very legacy of revolutions and counter-revolutions, as well as the disputes generated around their memory and use in the public arena, and the way in which they condition our social and political attitudes in the present.

Competences

    History
  • Applying the main methods, techniques and instruments of the historical analysis.
  • Critically assessing the fonts and theoretical models in order to analyse the different historical periods.
  • Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
  • Respecting the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
  • Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
    Contemporary History, Politics and Economics
  • Distinguish between and analyse the type of relations that have been established over the last century among the different social, political and economic agents on national, regional and international frameworks.
  • Distinguish between governmental decision-making systems in different social and political contexts from the mid-twentieth century to the present day in state-, substate and suprastate frameworks.
  • Explain and summarise knowledge acquired in English language at an advanced level.
  • Identify the role in the present of the different social memories referring to conflictive pasts, differentiating between the concepts of history and memory.
  • Recognise the basic foundations of economic analysis from both a microeconomic and macroeconomic perspective.
  • Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  • Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
  • Work cooperatively in multidisciplinary and multicultural teams implementing new projects.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Analyse the mechanisms of the formation of salaries.
  2. Appropriately identifying and using information sources for the historical research, specially about contemporary political regimes.
  3. Assess work-related policies.
  4. Communicating in your mother tongue or other language both in oral and written form by using specific terminology and techniques of Historiography.
  5. Critically summarise the different historiographical explanation for the rise of political regimes in the Contemporary Era.
  6. Critically summarising the various historiographical explanations about the emergence and evolution of political regimes in the contemporary era.
  7. Deal sensitively with social questions
  8. Developing the ability of historical analysis and synthesis.
  9. Engaging in debates about historical facts respecting the other participants' opinions.
  10. Identifying the main and secondary ideas and expressing them with linguistic correctness.
  11. Identifying the social, economic and political structures of the contemporary world.
  12. Interpret the motivations, instruments and effects of public intervention in the labour market.
  13. Make a brief comparison of national and/or regional cases within the same international framework.
  14. Manage and apply data to solve problems.
  15. Organising and planning the search of historical information.
  16. Present works in formats tailored to the needs and personal styles, both individual and small group.
  17. Properly using the specific vocabulary of History.
  18. Recognising diversity and multiculturalism.
  19. Recognising the historical processes that led to the contemporary society.
  20. Relate the labour market and economic activity.
  21. Relating elements and factors involved in the development of historical processes.
  22. Solving problems autonomously.
  23. Submitting works in accordance with both individual and small group demands and personal styles.
  24. Understand and explain situations of memory in conflict from the perspectives of class, gender and national identity.
  25. Understand in economic terms, the problem of unemployment and its causes.
  26. Understand the different perspectives of class, gender and national identity on which different relations between social, political and economic agents are based.
  27. Using computing resources of the area of study of history.
  28. Using the characteristic computing resources of the field of History.
  29. Using the specific work methods of Contemporary History.
  30. Work in teams respecting all points of view. Use the specific vocabulary of history correctly.

Content

1. Revolution and counterrevolution: two historical realities and concepts of analysis to approach contemporaneity.
2. The European revolutionary and counterrevolutionary sexennium, 1917-1923: the other revolutionary projects in Russia, Finland, Poland and Hungary.
3. Between Hitler and Stalin: armed resistance, collaborationism and civil war in occupied Europe, 1939-1953.
4. Decolonization and Cold War: Indonesia and the "pluricontinental" Portugal.
5. The empire's backyard: Operation Condor, Chile and Argentina, the Contra, the Sandinistas and Nicaragua, the particularities of the Colombian case.
6. A look at the 21st century: the Arab Springs and democratic bankruptcy.

Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Lecture, presentation and explanation by the teacher, encouragement to participate in classrooms debates. Theoretical or practical works 37 1.48 22, 13, 24, 26, 4, 8, 14, 2, 11, 10, 15, 9, 23, 16, 19, 18, 21, 5, 6, 7, 30, 17, 29, 28, 27
Lecture, presentation and explanation by the teacher, encouragement to participate in classrooms debates. Theoretical or practical works. 9 0.36 22, 13, 24, 26, 4, 8, 14, 2, 11, 10, 15, 9, 23, 16, 19, 18, 21, 5, 6, 7, 30, 17, 29, 28, 27
Reflection and interpretation based on primary documentation 9 0.36 22, 13, 24, 26, 4, 8, 14, 2, 11, 10, 15, 9, 23, 16, 19, 18, 21, 5, 6, 7, 30, 17, 29, 28, 27
Type: Supervised      
Tutorials. Personal interview with the student and orientation about practical works 15 0.6 4, 8, 10, 15, 9, 7, 30, 17
Type: Autonomous      
Personal works about bibliography 30 1.2 22, 26, 8, 14, 2, 11, 10, 15, 19, 18, 21, 5, 6, 7, 29, 27
Personal works about bibliography 45 1.8 22, 13, 24, 26, 4, 8, 14, 2, 11, 10, 15, 23, 16, 19, 18, 21, 5, 6, 7, 30, 17, 29, 28, 27

Teaching methodologies
 
 
 
ABR, inverted classroom, complementary film-forum series
 
 
 
Competencies
 
 
 
- Apply the main methods, techniques and tools of advanced historical analysis.
 
- Elaborate complex historical analyses that integrate subjects made invisible and silenced by classical historiography, such as women, and racialized and stereotyped subjects, endowing them with their agency.
 
- Critically evaluate sources, interpretative frameworks and theoretical models to analyze the various historical stages.
 
- Developing critical thinking and reasoning and knowing how to communicate them effectively, both in one's own languages and in a third language.
 
- Development of those learning skills necessary to undertake further studies with a high degree of autonomy.
 
- Students should be able to transmit information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialized and non-specialized audiences.
 
- Ability to gather and interpret relevant data (usually within their area of study) to make judgments that include a reflection on prominent social, scientific or ethical issues.
 
- Respect diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
 
 
 
Note:
 
 
 
You may only enter the classroom during the first 5 minutes of class and may only leave during the last 5 minutes of class. 
 
No food or beverages may be consumed during the class.
 
No cell phone may be consulted during class.
 
Any duly justified exception to these rules must explicitly receive the prior approval of the subject teacher.
 
 
 
15 minutes of a class will be reserved, within the calendar established by the center/title, for the completion by the students of the evaluation surveys of the teacher's performance and the evaluation of the subject.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Coursework 50% 2.7 0.11 1, 22, 3, 13, 24, 26, 4, 8, 25, 14, 2, 11, 10, 12, 15, 9, 23, 16, 19, 18, 20, 21, 5, 6, 7, 30, 17, 29, 28, 27
Written exam based on the reading of a book and two chapters 15% 0.7 0.03 22, 13, 24, 26, 4, 8, 2, 11, 10, 15, 23, 16, 19, 18, 21, 5, 6, 7, 17, 29
Written exam on the contents of the subject 35% 1.6 0.06 22, 13, 24, 26, 4, 8, 2, 11, 10, 15, 19, 18, 21, 5, 6, 7, 17, 29

Continuous evaluation
 
 
 
Theoretical tests:
 
-35% written test at the end of the term.
 
-15% written test based on the reading of a book and two chapters.
 
Practical tests
 
-50% course work consisting of a case study or a conceptual analysis of the revolution or counterrevolution throughout the contemporary period.
 
The final grade of the course is obtained by averaging the grades according to the percentages specified above. In order to pass the course, students must have taken the two exams and the two papers.
 
In no case will an average be made if the student has a grade lower than 3.5 in any of the two exams. This circumstance will entail having to recover the corresponding part/s of the course.
 
The student who does not reach 5 points will have the right to take the make-up exam as long as he/she fulfills these requirements:
 
- have the assignments done (if the assignments have not been handed in, the student will not be allowed to take the make-up exam).
 
- has an overall minimum grade of no less than 3
 
- has an average grade of at least 3.5 in the two midterm exams
 
 
 
The student will be able to review with the teacher the contents and grades of all the tests on the specific dates established by the teacher.
 
The assignments cannot be recovered, and in case the student has to go to the recovery of one or both midterm, the practical tests and assignments will continue to make average grade with the grade of the recovery.
 
In any case, the student who has to go to the recovery will not be able to aspire to get more than a 5 in the final grade of the course.
 
Other considerations: the work must be handed in on the dates set by the teacher, except for justified reasons. For each late class in the presentation of the work, the grade of the work will be lowered by two points. For each spelling mistake that appears in the work, the grade of the assignment in question will be lowered by 0.2 points.
 
The student will receive the grade of Not evaluable as long as he/she has not passed more than 30% of the evaluation activities.
 
In case the student performs any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade of an act of evaluation will be graded with a 0 in the act of evaluation or assignment in question, regardless of the disciplinary process that may be instigated. In case of several irregularities in the evaluation acts of the same subject the final grade will be 0.
 
In case the tests cannot be done in person, their format will be adapted (maintaining the weighting) to the possibilities offered by the virtual tools of the UAB. Homework, activities and class participation will be done through forums, wikis and/or discussions of exercises through Teams, etc. The professor will ensure that the student can access or offer alternative means that are within their reach.
 
 
 
Single evaluation
 
 
 
In those cases in which the student chooses the form of single evaluation due to the need to reconcile their work and family life, the system used to assess the acquisition of the required competencies will be the following:
 
Theoretical tests:
 
- A single final exam worth 50% of the total grade to be divided between an oral interview which will count 25% of the grade and a written test which will count the remaining 25%.
 
Practical tests:
 
- Paper 1: (25%) small research on a specific case study of revolution and counter-revolution.
 
- Work 2 (25%) elaboration of a combined review of two books from the bibliographic list, establishing the links between the problems, theses and general arguments present in the two works analyzed, points of debate and discussion between them, etc.
 
 
 
The final grade of the course is obtained by averaging the grades according to the percentages specified above. In order to pass the course it is necessary to have taken both parts of the exam and the two papers.
 
In no case will an average be made if the student has a total grade lower than 3.5 in the exam. This circumstance will entail having to go to recovery.
 
The student who does not reach 5 points will have the right to go to the recovery exam as long as he/she fulfills these requirements:
 
- have the assignments done (if the assignments have not been handed in, the student will not be allowed to take the make-up exam).
 
- have a minimum overall grade of not less than 3
 
- has an average exam grade of not less than 3.5
 
 
 
The student will be able to review with the teacher the contents and grades of all the tests.
 
Practical tests and assignments cannot be recovered, and in case the student has to go to the recovery of one or both partial exams, the practical tests and assignments will continue to make average grade with the grade of the recovery.
 
In any case, the student who has to go to the recovery will not be able toaspire to get more than a 5 in the final grade of the subject.
 
Other considerations: The assignments must be handed in on the dates set by the teacher, except for justified reasons. For each late class in the presentation of the work, the grade of the work will be lowered by two points. For each spelling mistake that appears in the work, the grade of the work will be lowered by 0.2 points.
 
Students who for reasons of force majeure cannot guarantee their attendance to the face-to-face sessions will follow a parallel evaluation that will incorporate, in addition to the components of the evaluation indicated above, a supplementary work, as long as they can demonstrate in a duly accredited way the impossibility of following the form of evaluation foreseen.
 
The student will receive the grade of Not evaluable provided that he/she has not released more than 30% of the evaluation activities.
 
In case the student performs any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation of the grade of an evaluation act, this evaluation act will be graded with 0, regardless of the disciplinary process that may be instituted. In case several irregularities occur in the evaluation acts of the same subject the final grade of this subject will be 0.
 
If the tests cannot be taken in person, their format will be adapted (maintaining the weighting) to the possibilities offered by the virtual tools of the UAB. Homework, activities and class participation will be done through forums, wikis and/or discussions of exercises through Teams, etc. The professor will ensure that the student has access or will offer alternative means that are within their reach.

Bibliography

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- ALEGRE LORENZ, David: Colaboracionistas: Europa occidental y el Nuevo Orden nazi, Barcelona, Galaxia Gutenberg, 2022.

- ALEKSIÉVITX, Svetlana: Temps de segona mà: la fi de l'home roig, Barcelona, Raig Verd, 2013.

- ALLINSON, Jamie: The Age of Counter-Revolution: States and Revolutions in the Middle East, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2022.

- BENIGNO, Francesco: Ensayo histórico sobre la violencia política: el rostro ambiguo del terrorismo, Madrid, Cátedra, 2023.

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- HORNE, Gerald: The Counter-Revolution of 1776: Slave Resistance and the Origins of the United States of America, New York, New York University Press, 2014.

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- MAYER, Arno J.: Las Furias: violencia y terror en las revoluciones francesa y rusa, Zaragoza, Prensas de la Universidad de Zaragoza, 2014.

- MAYER, Arno J.: La persistencia del Antiguo Régimen: Europa hasta la Gran Guerra, Madrid, Alianza, 1994.

- MERRIMAN, John: Masacre: vida y muerte en la Comuna de París de 1871, Madrid, Akal, 2024.

- PAXTON, Robert O.: Anatomía del fascismo, Barcelona, Península, 2005.

- PONTORIERO, Esteban Damián: La represión militar en la Argentina, Universidad Nacional de la Plata, Universidad Nacional de Misiones, Universidad Nacional General Sarmiento, 2022.

- REYBROUCK, David: Revolución: Indonesia y el nacimiento del mundo moderno, Madrid, Taurus, 2022.

- RÍOS SIERRA, Jerónimo: Historia de la violencia en Colombia: 1946-2020. Una mirada territorial, Madrid, Sílex, 2021.

- RÍOS SIERRA, Jerónimo and AZCONA, José Manuel: Historia de las guerrillas en América Latina, Madrid, Catarata, 2019.

- RODRÍGUEZ JIMÉNEZ, José Luis: Bajo el mando del Caudillo: nazis, fascistas y colaboracionistas en la España franquista, Madrid, Alianza, 2024.

- RODRIGO, Javier and ALEGRE LORENZ, David: Comunidades rotas: una historia global de las guerras civiles, 1917-2017, Barcelona, Galaxia Gutenberg, 2019.

- STRAEHLE, Edgar: Los pasados de la revolución: los múltiples caminos de la memoria revolucionaria, Madrid, Akal, 2024.

- TERNAVASIO, Marcela: Los juegos de la política: las independencias hispanoamericanas frente a la contrarrevolución, Zaragoza, Prensas de la Universidad de Zaragoza-Siglo XXI, 2021.

- THEWELEIT, Klaus: Male Fantasies. Volume 1: Women, Floods, Bodies, History, Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press, 1987.

- THEWELEIT, Klaus: Male Fantasies. Volume 2: Male Bodies, Psychoanalyzing the White Terror, Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press, 1989.

- TRAVERSO, Enzo: Revolución: Una historia intelectual, Madrid, Akal, 2022.

- VINCE, Natalya: The Algerian War, The Algerian Revolution, Londres, Palgrave, 2020.

- WADE, Rex A.: 1917, la Revolución rusa, Madrid, Esfera de los Libros, 2017.


Software

Excel, Word and Power Point


Language list

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Catalan/Spanish second semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan/Spanish second semester morning-mixed