ABSTRACT
Unprecedented numbers of regime collapses have been revolutions, i.e., the concerted effort of masses of citizens to force out the government and then to restructure the political system. Regimes that strive for complete authority demand unwavering political obedience from their citizens. Civil wars are the least functional forms of regime collapse. The most frequent form of regime collapse in the twentieth century in Latin America, Africa and Asia is the coup d'etat. Wars lost to a foreign power constitute a final category of collapse. Regime transitions commence with processes that erode or attack the existing political order and lead to its collapse. A special situation sometimes arises when a regime oversteps accepted bounds of coercion. Coercion can accelerate protest, even in those highly repressive regimes that would normally face little resistance from the population. Most anti-system dissident groups organize with the hope of sufficient mobilization to overthrow the existing regime.
