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Revolution & regime change

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RevolutionRegimes & backslidingCausal inference

Revolution, regime change & comparative causal reasoning

When the Center Breaks

A ruler leaves. What actually changes?

Open real case files from Tunisia, Egypt, Belarus and Sri Lanka. Test theories of revolution, interrogate numbers and sources, and defend what changed in political authority. New evidence may challenge your first explanation.

How it runsSolo simulation
Time to planThree 50-minute meetings · provisional teaching plan
What you produceEvidence notebook, independent case brief and testable hypothesis
Just exploring Written notes optionalStart for class Complete the required responses

The same political choices in both routes. You can switch inside without starting over. For class asks you to complete any missing required responses. Save a report in either route; your instructor decides what to accept.

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When the Center Breaks. Created by Yoav Duman. Fractured institutional buildings and an empty chair above connected civic spaces.
Revolution

What you can explore

  • Distinguish leader exit, regime transformation, democratization and social revolution using dated criteria.
  • Connect a theory to actors, actions and a causal mechanism, then compare a serious rival.
  • Interpret numbers with their units and denominators; audit sources and preserve evidence-based revisions.
  • Transfer an explanation to a new case and propose evidence that could weaken a hypothesis.

YOUR FIELD KIT

Keep the case files.

Play online, download a self-contained copy or take the full teaching pack into class.

Progress is stored separately on each website. Use Save / restore to move your work.

What the model leaves open

Historical events remain fixed; the Commission is fictional. Four purposively selected cases do not estimate revolution success rates. Cover art is conceptual. Timing and learning effects require classroom piloting.

AFTERWARD, THINK ABOUT

Which organizations could keep governing after a leader left, and what evidence supports your explanation?

Teaching this activity Debrief, assessment & assignment draft

Bring it back to the room

  • Which organizations could keep governing after a leader left, and what evidence supports your explanation?
  • Which observation changed your claim, and which rival remains plausible?
  • What can this four-case selection establish, and what would require a different comparison?

What to assess

Assess concepts, mechanism, evidence and data, rivals, revision and uncertainty, and transfer. The manual supplies an 18-point reasoning rubric. Completion and word floors record attempts; they do not grade reasoning.

Read the complete teaching guide →

Syllabus description, rubric & printable companion →

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Syllabus description & discussion prompts
Syllabus description
Open real case files from Tunisia, Egypt, Belarus and Sri Lanka. Test theories of revolution, interrogate numbers and sources, and defend what changed in political authority. New evidence may challenge your first explanation. Students produce evidence notebook, independent case brief and testable hypothesis.
Questions for a discussion board or class debrief
  1. Which organizations could keep governing after a leader left, and what evidence supports your explanation?
  2. Which observation changed your claim, and which rival remains plausible?
  3. What can this four-case selection establish, and what would require a different comparison?
Open printable teaching companion →