"In 2011, revolutions across the Middle East carried the torch of nonviolence and deposed three entrenched dictators and shook the throne of several kings and emirs. This is known as the Arab Spring, an awkward metaphor which misses the phenomenon by limiting it to Arabs. […] What is remarkable is that probably the most violent region of the world, the Middle East, was capable of rallying around a nonviolent philosophy of historical change in 2011."
— Chibli Mallat, an author, professor, and human rights proponent, on the philosophy of nonviolence, constitutionalism, and the Arab Spring
"A revolution is not a dinner party, or writing an essay, or painting a picture, or doing embroidery; it cannot be so refined, so leisurely and gentle, so temperate, kind, courteous, restricted and magnanimous. A revolution is an insurrection, an act of violence whereby one class overthrows another."
— Daniel P. Ritter cites Mao Zedong in The Iron Cage of Liberalism.
"This extraordinary claim—that the power of kings came not from God but that all governments should derive their power from consent of the governed—led to eight years of war with Britain, which sought to enforce its claims to royal rule. George Washington, the colonists’ general, brilliantly organized and shepherded the ragged colonial army through several years when mere survival was remarkable. Eventually, France decided that it could avenge its defeat in the French and Indian War by helping the colonies against Britain, providing first financial support and then military intervention."
— Jack A. Goldstone, author of Revolutions: A Very Short Introduction, compares the constitutional revolutions of America, France, Europe (1830 and 1848), and Meiji Japan.