Revolutions in thought and factual history

Revolution and revolutionary are not scientific concepts, but mobilizing myths speaking in the name of unattainable justice. Revolutionary heroes (Bolivar, Imam Shâmil, Omar al-Mokhtar, Ousman Dan Fodio, Buenaventura Durruti, Emiliano Zapata, Pancho Villa, Che Guevara...) are celebrated in literature, poetry, painting and even popular song. Hasta siempre, commandante, the song in praise of Che, written by Carlos Puebla and globalized by Nathalie Cardone, is on everyone's lips, including those who don't speak Spanish. If not in words, at least in tune. To enter into the scientific analysis of revolutions, in terms of both thought and historical fact, a linguistic and methodological groundwork must be laid. The aim of the lecture is to retrace the path that leads us from situations to the concept of revolution, and then to examine the meanings, types and causes of revolutions, as well as their modes of action, particularly revolutionary violence. A substantial part will be devoted to the relationship between religions and revolutions, particularly in the Islamic, African and Arab contexts. Another part, of the same dimension, will attempt to answer the fundamental question: "What is a democratic revolution?"