Revolution and Spatial Focal Point: Symbolic Sanctification and Its Effect on Subsequent Revolutions

Abstract

Why do revolutions occur? Some scholars focusing on mass movements and rebellions have addressed the role of focal points and have sought to identify them. Specifically, several studies have focused on “temporal focal points,” such as the tendency of revolutions to occur during election periods or religious events. However, theoretical exploration of “spatial focal points”—locations where citizens and opposition forces gather en masse—has been limited. Against this background, this paper poses the following research question: Where do the masses gather during revolutionary events? To address this, we constructed a novel dataset of 128 revolutionary places across 80 revolutionary events from 1974 to 2014. Using this dataset along with a case study of the Philippines, we examine the theory that places where citizens assembled during past revolutions undergo symbolic sanctification and are more likely to serve as gathering points in subsequent revolutionary movements.