Political instability in one form or the other has been a recurring phenomenon in the history of mankind and its occurrence has often coincided with the rise and fall of political systems/regimes. Political thinkers from the ancient period onwards have repeatedly addressed themselves to the puzzling problem of political instability, its causes, characteristics, consequences and cures. Changing notion about the state, new forms of governments, new conceptions about the relationship between the state and the individual, growing concern for individual rights and civil liberties, rising expectation for freedom. And free society-all these and many other political experiments have been the outcome of this continuing search for a perfect and a durable form of government. As this ideal of a perfect form has not been found so far, no government can be totally immune to instability. But the search for the 'will-o-the wisp' cannot be given up. The nature and pattern of political instability have changed significantly due to an unprecedented historical acceleration, process of modernization and development in technology and communication in the last one hundred years. Both old and new states have experienced massive disorder, violent changes, and sometimes even total breakdown of their political system. For instance, since World War II, Greece has seen five-year civil war, several general elections involving more than fifty political parties, more than three dozen governments, many successful coups, fall of the constitutional monarchy, three referenda and numerous violent political riots. France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Norway, Denmark, Sweden etc., have witnessed massive upheavals. Anglo-American countries with a long tradition of stable democracies are not free from internal turmoil’s. In communist states, in Yugoslavia and Hungary process of developing new relationship with the west and in Czechoslovakia attempt to develop a new form of socialism continue to create an atmosphere of uncertainty but excessive repression and manipulation of Soviet Union prevent appearance of internal disorder in these countries. In Asian- African and Latin American countries a host of new nations which emerged after World War II are struggling and often failing to establish and sustain stable national governments. Political instability, therefore, stands out as a baffling question and a matter of serious concern for those who are interested in the theoretical and systematic study of this phenomenon.
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