The course of history has been greatly defined by political and social events of tremendous significance; revolutions. Several of the most influential international alliances and feuds of the twenty-first century were generated by these occurrences, and states such as Russia and Iran have managed to deeply impact the international world order through their revolutionary behavior and ideology. It is due to its complexity and historical impact that the study of revolutions has informed the theoretical analyzes of political scientists. This study discusses prominent theories of revolution to provide an analytical framework: Marxism, Modernization, Relative Deprivation, and Mobilization. The thesis then assesses these theories by applying them to two of the most influential revolutions of the twentieth century: The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 in Russia and the Muslim Revolution of 1979 in Iran. Each case study addresses the economic, social, and political conditions present prior to each society’s respective revolution. A final comparison of both case studies, based on revolutionary theories, reveals the specific variables necessary for the formation and success of revolutionary movements.

This dissertation employs a qualitative case study approach to investigate the 2010-2012 Arab Spring. It addresses two research questions: 1) what are the Arab Spring events instances of, and 2) what gave rise to the variation across the Arab Spring outcomes? The ultimate objective of this research is to go beyond theorizing the Arab Spring to advance a typological theory on popular revolution. To that end, the study reviews several bodies of literature in the social sciences, and employs a structured, focused comparison approach to analyze variance across six Arab Spring cases: Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Syria, and Bahrain. As a result, four theoretical types of revolutionary action have been identified: elite-imposed popular evolution (EIPR), foreign-imposed popular revolution (FIPR), foreign-blocked abortive revolution (FBAR), and elite-blocked abortive revolution (EBAR). In addition, the research found EIPR to have been the case in Tunisia and Egypt, FIPR in Libya and Yemen, and FBAR in Syria and Bahrain; EBAR was an empty cell in the Arab Spring. Furthermore, the study proposes that cases of EIPR are likely to culminate in a quasi-coup by autonomous elites; FIPR in a foreign-imposed regime change (FIRC) by international intervention; FBAR in a foreign-imposed regime maintenance (FIRM) by foreign patrons; and EBAR in an elite-imposed regime maintenance (EIRM) by subservient elites. The contingent generalizations offered by this theory should help scholars and policy makers approximate the trajectory of future revolutionary events by tracing them to the above theoretical types. This should help them improve their overall response to recent and ongoing revolutionary events, especially in the area of conflict resolution.

The diploma thesis deals with some aspects of the life of the Czech generation Y, the first generation growing up in a free period after the Velvet Revolution of 1989. The thesis focuses on university students. The introduction focuses on defining the concept of generation in the Czech environment as well as in the world, as well as the issue of generations and discussions on the subject both at the media and at the professional level. The research section is based on interviews with twelve members of this generation. The interviews are oriented on the specifics that distinguish the Czech generation Y from the young people in other parts of the world, especially history of the Czechoslovakia between years 1948 and 1989. The interviews drew on their opinion and outlook on the development of the republic before 1989 by opting for family, education, peers, and other factors that could influence them. The conversations also focused on the current attitude towards politics, ideologies and values. Narrators also looked for generational specifics and characteristics related to generational determination, such as technology, social networks, anti-communism... Key words Husák's Children, Velvet Revolution, communism, anti-communism, ideology, technology, social media, theory of generations, freedom