THE IMPACT OF INTERSTATE CONFLICT ON REVOLUTIONARY CHANGE AND INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM

Revolutionary change sometimes covers decades or centuries, as the 'in dustrial revolution' or the rise of the West did. Sometimes, it is a m atter of a few years, as in the great French or Russian revolutions. B oth types of revolutionary change are rarely considered together. Thos e who analyze structural changes in economies tend to argue that inter state competition curtails the power of rulers, contributes to safe pr operty rights and individual freedom, and ultimately to economic devel opment. Those who analyze violent revolutions tend to argue that inter state conflict contributes to regime collapse and that revolutionary g overnments ruthlessly build strong states without much consideration o f human costs. Whether or not international conflict promotes freedom seems to depend on the degree of foreign pressure, on the collapse of domestic regimes as well as on the role of intellectuals.