French Revolution compared to The Orange Revolution

Social Cognitive Theory

The Orange Revolution took place in Ukraine in the late 2004 and early 2005. It involved a series of protests and mass action that followed the 2004 presidential run-off in the country. These political activities were attributed to the nature of the electoral process that was claimed to have been corrupt and unfair. The protests were particularly concentrated in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, with the number of demonstrators increasing daily. All over the country, the opposition politicians organized several strikes and acts of civil disobedience. On the other hand, the French Revolution was marked with the adoption of the Enlightenment principles that overturned the aristocratic system in France. The absolute monarchy that had become synonymous with France fell within a period of three years. In addition, all the religious a well as aristocratic privileges fell apart. It was basically a period of burying the old systems and adopting modern principles of equality and human rights. Unlike the Orange Revolution, the French Revolution had a global impact, leading to worldwide entrenchment of inalienable rights for all humans (Carlyle, 2002). 

The French Revolution was as a result of conflict of historical models while the Orange Revolution was a result of a flawed electoral process. While people had always been comfortable with the autocracy, they finally decided to denounce it. It is worth noting that such a painful process could not have been undertaken without shedding of blood. It goes without saying that folks who benefited from the autocratic process would not easily let go of their social privileges. As a matter of fact, this draws some parallel with the Orange Revolution in that the incumbent regime was not willing to give up power. At the same time, the masses wanted a change of regimes so they could put in place a friendly government. According to literature, Ukrainians started loathing President Kuchma in 2000 when he was suspected of murdering a famous Ukrainian journalist. The journalist was known for unearthing corruption among politicians. It was after this that most people swore to use the power of the vote to remove him from power. Thus, when the run-off was perceived to have been rigged in favor of the incumbent, violence ensued. Essentially, the two revolutions were manifestation of deep-rooted social conflict (Kalil, 2008).

The Orange Revolution was largely influenced by external forces while the French Revolution was caused by internal or domestic forces. According to analysts, the Orange Revolution was triggered by the Rose Revolution as well as earlier events that led to the ousting of Slobodan in Serbia. These events made people to believe that they could organize themselves with a view to ousting leaders who opted to cling to power through electoral fraud. It basically took lots of grassroots campaign, mass actions as well as civil disobedience as had been applied elsewhere with great success. On the other hand, the French Revolution was caused by a series of economic factors that became unbearable for the people. These included hunger as well as malnutrition because the prices of food were fast increasing. This forced people to act so as to give themselves a better life (Carlyle, 2002).

In conclusion, the French Revolution was marked with the adoption of the Enlightenment principles that overturned the aristocratic system in France. It basically had a global impact, leading to worldwide entrenchment of inalienable rights for all humans. On the other hand, the Orange Revolution took place in Ukraine in the late 2004 and early 2005. It involved a series of protests and mass action that followed the 2004 presidential run-off in the country. Essentially, it should be noted that the Orange Revolution was influenced by external forces while the French Revolution was caused by internal or domestic forces.