History Main / RevolvingDoorRevolution

* ''Videogame/TheNewOrderLastDaysOfEurope:'' Komi, one of Russia's warlord states and the only representative democracy at the start, is ''especially'' prone to these because they were too open and welcomed everyone from every end of the political spectrum, even those that got kicked out of their cliques. As a result, the government tends to rapidly loop between representatives of nearly every segment of the political spectrum as influence wanes and grows, until someone manages to stay for more than two months.

* UsefulNotes/{{Uganda}} went through this during the latter half of the 20th century. It began in 1962, when the British granted the country independence, leading to disputes between advocates for a centralized state and those who supported a loose federation. This struggle climaxed in 1966, when Prime Minister Milton Obote suspended the constitution and assumed all government powers. Obote was then overthrown in a 1971 MilitaryCoup by UsefulNotes/IdiAmin, who promised to hold elections, only to renege on that promise and establish his own dictatorship. Years of internal unrest culminated in Amin's government being removed by a UsefulNotes/{{Tanzania}}n invasion in 1979, after which various groups who had opposed his regime formed an interim government, which was replaced by a military commission following internal turmoil. [[FullCircleRevolution Milton Obote returned to power]] following [[VoteEarlyVoteOften rigged elections]] in 1980, sparking the Ugandan Bush War. After several years of fighting, [[HistoryRepeats Milton Obote was overthrown again]] in 1985, this time by a group of military officers led by Bazilio Olara-Okello. The subsequent military government subsequently lost the war against the rebels, bringing Yoweri Museveni to power in 1986.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'', the country of Galt is an obvious analogue for France -- specifically France during the Reign of Terror, which it has been undergoing for 40+ years now, with no signs of stopping. During that time, it has seen over a dozen different governments, each new revolutionary council guillotining their predecessors, only to be overthrown themselves within five years. The only consistent power structure in Galt is the WeirdTradeUnion that maintains the magical guillotines themselves.

** In the early 20th century, China went from being an Empire under the Qing dynasty to a Republic [[UsefulNotes/NoMoreEmperors following the Xinhai Revolution of 1911]], only to be dragged under the rule of a ''de facto'' dictator, whose death in 1916 created a power vacuum that led to a period of regional "warlords" duking it out with each other in order to fill it. The south finally unified in 1926 under the Nationalist Party, who launched a "Northern Expedition" to reunify the entire country, only to plunge right back into civil war again when the Nationalists and Communists turned on each other a year later. This was complicated further by the Japanese invasion and occupation in 1937, which was later merged into the larger UsefulNotes/SecondWorldWar. Following the war, the Communist party seized total control of the mainland, with Taiwan being the sole surviving outpost of the Nationalist party, thus giving rise to a rivalry between the two nations that lasts to this day.

* Afghanistan has been going through this since the 1970s. It began in 1973 when Mohammed Daoud Khan seized power in a coup, abolishing the monarchy and proclaiming the country a republic, making himself the president. Five years later in 1978, Khan was overthrown and murdered in the Saur Revolution by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, who created the [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny Democratic Republic of Afghanistan]]. As Afghans of many different backgrounds and persuasions rose up against the DRA's repressive measures, General Secretary Nur Muhammad Taraki was deposed and subsequently liquidated by [[TheStarscream Hafizullah Amin]] in 1979, who was himself killed by Soviet troops and replaced with Babrak Karmal in the opening days of the UsefulNotes/SovietInvasionOfAfghanistan. The DRA collapsed in 1992 and was replaced with the Islamic State of Afghanistan, only for the new nation to fall into infighting almost immediately. As this new civil war raged, the Taliban, a group of Pashtun nationalists who adhered to an extreme form of Islam, rose to prominence, eventually forming the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in 1996 and fighting for complete control of the country against a warlord coalition called the Northern Alliance. In 2001, the IEA was overrun and dissolved by NATO forces [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror hunting for the Taliban's al-Qaeda allies]], being replaced with a temporary transitional regime and then the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The Islamic Republic collapsed in 2021 due to a combination of a poorly-handled withdrawal of foreign troops and serious internal problems, leading the Taliban to re-establish control over most of the country... but even now things appear shaky, since fissures have emerged in their ranks and they're struggling to contain both various republican insurgencies and the regional ISIL offshoot. All this has understandably led for calls for [[BookEnds the monarchy to be restored]], since it was the last time Afghanistan had long-term stability.

* UsefulNotes/TheMexicanRevolution began with a 1910 revolt against President Porfirio Díaz, who was accused of [[VoteEarlyVoteOften rigging his re-election]] by opposing Candidate Francisco I. Madero. Díaz lost power in the uprising and went into exile in France in 1911, making Madero the new President, only for him to be assassinated in 1913 and replaced by Victoriano Huerta. Huerta was himself deposed in 1914, after which the revolutionary factions began fighting one another. Venustiano Carranza, Governor of Coahuila, became President against the backdrop of this turmoil and promulgated a new constitution in 1917, but he was overthrown and killed in 1920 after trying to impose a successor. The following twenty years saw a period of consolidation of the revolution that, while still plagued with violence, still had relatively stable government despite a political crisis following the assassination of president-elect Álvaro Obregón in 1928.

* ''ComicBook/{{Robin|1993}}'': The small fictional country of Transbelvia was once part of the soviet block, then had some chaos getting a government in place, and once that government was in place it proved to be ruthless and tyrannical causing another revolution that Tim gets caught in the middle of briefly when he goes to stop ComicBook/LadyShiva from killing a young revolutionary who has been learning one-hit techniques from various martial arts schools.

-->'''Old farmer:''' Listen, years ago I rode with [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benito_Juarez Juárez]] against [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_I_of_Mexico Emperor Maximilian]]. I lost many chickens but I thought it was worth it to be free. When [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porfirio_Diaz Porfirio]] became President, I supported him -- but he stole my chickens. Then came [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoriano_Huerta Huerta]] and he stole my chickens. Then it was [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venustiano_Carranza Carranza]]'s term, and he stole my chickens too. Now comes [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancho_villa Pancho Villa]] to liberate me and the first thing he does is steal my chickens!... What makes one different from the others? My chickens don't know. All over the world revolutions come and go. Presidents rise and fall. They all steal your chickens. The only thing to change is the name of the man who takes them.

* This trope is the theme of the Tim Pool song [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=B-iNIwAFzPw Will of the People]]. A fascist dictator crushes anyone who opposes his rule. A man whose parents were killed by the fascist regime gets his revenge by leading a successful communist revolution, but soon becomes a dictator just as bad himself and is overthrown by a third political group. Before his execution, he has a HeelRealization and warns his successor that the cycle will continue. Sure enough, his successor is overthrown and executed by a fourth political group. The music video even includes a scene similar to the page image.

* In ''VideoGame/ImperiumNova'' this was the norm in Capricorn for a long time until an alliance of houses made the galaxy an ElectiveMonarchy.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow'' episode "Travelogue", the fictitious island country of Acromeglia annually celebrates their independence revolution by having another revolution.

* The Byzantine Empire, where dynasties could last as much as two or three, or even ''one'', emperors before being overthrown.
* For about 80 years, from 1789 to 1870, the French underwent repeated revolutions and counter-revolutions as Republicans and Monarchists (divided into three factions, each supporting a different dynasty, and a different style of monarchy) [[GambitPileup battled for control of the government.]] First came the Ancient Regime, then the First Republic (including the Reign of Terror, the Directorate and the Consulate as distinct phases inaugured through violent means), then the First Empire under Napoleon (1804-1814), then the First Bourbon Restoration (1814-1815), then the 100 days (1815), then the Second Bourbon Restoration (1815-1830), then the July Monarchy (1830-1848), then the Second Republic (1848-1852), then the Second Empire (1853-1870), before finally settling on the Third Republic in 1870, which was the first relatively stable French democracy (still prone to short-lived, unstable government), lasting 70 years (longer than any other government in France since the first revolution -- interestingly, it was originally intended to just be a placeholder government until the monarchy was restored, but that fell apart because the leading candidate to take the restored throne made impossible demands and nobody could see how anyone else could take his place[[note]]In further detail: The candidate in question was a reactionary conservative, but was also an elderly childless bachelor who recognized his younger and much more liberal cousin as his legitimate heir. This meant that conservative and liberal monarchists could agree to recognize him as king and the cousin as heir to the throne, and between them they had a majority. But the guy made crazy demands about royal and state symbolism — especially demanding that the flag be changed from the Tricolor to the white flag of the Bourbons — that even the conservatives didn’t want. They thought that because he was old, they could just wait for him to die, but they lost their majority to actual republicans before he passed.[[/note]]) until 1940 [[UsefulNotes/SecondWorldWar when it was destroyed by the Nazis and replaced with the collaborationist regime based in Vichy]]. The Fourth Republic was established following WWII and had twenty-four successive cabinets in twelve years, with only ''one'' lasting over a year. The shortest-lived one only lasted ''two days''. Then it collapsed in 1958 as France lost control of its colonies.[[note]]The colonies had been given special status under the new constitution of the Fourth Republic. The Fourth Republic's Constitution was rendered obsolete because the authors of the constitution did not expect to lose the colonies a mere decade later. ItsALongStory.[[/note]] It was replaced by the Fifth Republic, which has remained in power ever since, although there was still a threat of a student-organized revolution in 1968; it fell apart because the more wary industrial workers refused to side with them.

** In the early 20th century, China went from being an Empire under the Qing dynasty to a Republic following the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, only to be dragged under the rule of a ''de facto'' dictator, whose death in 1916 created a power vacuum that led to a period of regional "warlords" duking it out with each other in order to fill it. The south finally unified in 1926 under the Nationalist Party, who launched a "Northern Expedition" to reunify the entire country, only to plunge right back into civil war again when the Nationalists and Communists turned on each other a year later. This was complicated further by the Japanese invasion and occupation in 1937, which was later merged into the larger UsefulNotes/SecondWorldWar. Following the war, the Communist party seized total control of the mainland, with Taiwan being the sole surviving outpost of the Nationalist party, thus giving rise to a rivalry between the two nations that lasts to this day.
* Korea has a long history of being sometimes united, sometimes divided, sometimes independent, sometimes under foreign occupation. Due to its location, it has, at various times, been under the influence of Japan, Russia, China, the Mongols, and the Manchurians. A "shrimp between rampaging whales" as one Korean historian put it. Between 1894 and 1895, China and Japan fought the first Sino-Japanese war over Korea. Ten years later between 1904 and 1905 Japan fought another war over Korea, this time with the Russian Empire. In 1910, Japan forced Korea to sign the Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty, which made Korea a part of the Japanese Empire. The Korean people then suffered under Japanese Occupation until the end of the Second World War, when it was [[BalkanizeMe split between the Communist North, and the Pro-Western South.]] Between 1950 and 1953 the North and South fought the Korean war, with the Americans and their allies intervening on behalf of the South, and with the Soviets, Chinese, and their allies intervening on behalf of the North. The peace that ended the war established a new border at the "DMZ" and formed an uneasy peace that has lasted more or less intact for 60 years. South Korea has had its own cases of Revolving Door Revolution, with the First Republic lasting from 1948-1960, until President Syngman Rhee, who was becoming increasingly more corrupt and dictatorial, was overthrown in the "April Revolution" of 1960. The Second Republic lasted from 1960-1961 until it was overthrown by a military Junta called the "Supreme Council for National Reconstruction" that held power from 1961-1963. This was followed by the Third Republic, which lasted from 1963-1972. In 1972 a new Constitution was adopted, creating the Fourth Republic, which lasted until the assassination of President Park Chung-hee. The so-called "Fifth Republic" [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny wasn't really a Republic at all, but another military dictatorship]] under the rule of Chun Doo-hwan from 1979-1987. The Sixth republic was put in place in 1987 and remains in place to this day.

* The Byzantine Empire, where dynasties could last as much as two or three, or even ''one'', emperors before being overthrown. Its predecessor the [[UsefulNotes/RomanEmpire Roman Empire]] had it just the same with some of its less successful emperors lasting for a matter of weeks.

* In 1822, the Haitians invaded what is now the Dominican Republic and drove out the Spanish colonizers. Initially popular, the Dominicans eventually became fed up with the Haitian rule and drove them out, establishing the First Dominican Republic. Later, the Dominican leader made the unpopular move of requesting the Spanish to re-colonize the Dominican Republic, resulting in another civil war where Haitians [[EnemyMine fought alongside]] the very Dominicans they fought years earlier, to drive out the Spanish again.

* Afghanistan has been going through this since the 1970s. It began in 1973 when Mohammed Daoud Khan seized power in a coup, abolishing the monarchy and proclaiming the country a republic, making himself the president. Five years later in 1978, Khan was overthrown and murdered in the Saur Revolution by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, who created the [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny Democratic Republic of Afghanistan]]. As Afghans of many different backgrounds and persuasions rose up against the DRA's repressive measures, General Secretary Nur Muhammad Taraki was deposed and subsequently liquidated by [[TheStarscream Hafizullah Amin]] in 1979, who was himself killed by Soviet troops and replaced with Babrak Karmal in the opening days of the UsefulNotes/SovietInvasionOfAfghanistan. The DRA collapsed in 1992 and was replaced with the Islamic State of Afghanistan, only for the new nation to fall into infighting almost immediately. As this new civil war raged, the Taliban, a group of Pashtun nationalists who adhered to an extreme form of Islam, rose to prominence, eventually forming the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in 1996 and fighting for complete control of the country against a warlord coalition called the Northern Alliance. In 2001, the IEA was overrun and dissolved by NATO forces [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror hunting for the Taliban's al-Qaeda allies]], being replaced with the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The Islamic Republic collapsed in 2021 due to a combination of a poorly-handled withdrawal of foreign troops and serious internal problems, leading the Taliban to re-establish control over most of the country... but even now things appear shaky, since fissures have emerged in their ranks and they're struggling to contain both various republican insurgencies and the regional ISIL offshoot. All this has understandably led for calls for [[BookEnds the monarchy to be restored]], since it was the last time Afghanistan had long-term stability.

These sorts of turnovers are particularly common in your stereotypical BananaRepublic and in failed states.

* The ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' continuity tells us that although the Old Galactic Republic lasted for thousands of years, after the Clone Wars the Galaxy went through a period of this. First the [[TheEmpire Galactic Empire]], then the [[TheRepublic New Republic]], then the [[Literature/NewJediOrder Yuuzhan Vong Empire]], then the [[Literature/LegacyOfTheForce Galactic Federation]] [[Literature/FateOfTheJedi of Free Alliances]], then the [[ComicBook/{{Legacy}} Fel Empire]], then the Krayt empire...all in the span of about a century and a half.

-->'''Felix Leiter:''' Regimes change once a week around here. Medrano'll be no dirtier than the next guy

* In the Mexican movie ''Su Excelencia", the ambassador of the bananian republic of Los Cocos, named Lopitos, became that after three coups on the same night. The last dictator is a relative of Lopitos.

* Lampshaded in ''Spaceship Medic'' by Creator/HarryHarrison. While launching TheMutiny the villain enlists the help of a Mexican scientist on board, [[NationalStereotypes apparently thinking of]] his country's reputation for revolutions. However, the scientist is just playing along and launches a counter-mutiny to put TheCaptain back in charge, whereupon he quips that the villain should have remembered his country's reputation for counter-revolutions as well.

* ''Series/BlakesSeven''. Supreme Commander Servalan takes over the Federation in a MilitaryCoup at the end of Season B, gets briefly deposed in ''coup d'état'' led by one of her SecretPolice agents, then permanently deposed at the end of Season C by supporters of the previous system who quickly move to reconquer the planets the Federation lost during the CivilWar. She continues to scheme to reacquire her power through the final season.
* At the start of ''Series/DeepSpaceNine'', the Cardassians have just ended their fifty-year occupation of Bajor and left the planet drained of resources and on the verge of CivilWar. The trope is lampshaded by the Ferengi merchant Quark. (Things don't turn out that way thanks to a DeusExMachina at the end of the episode, but even then it's a near thing for the first few seasons).

* This trope is the theme of the Tim Pool song [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=B-iNIwAFzPw Will of the People]]. A fascist dictator crushes anyone who opposes his rule. A man whose parents were killed by the fascist regime gets his revenge by leading a successful communist revolution but soon becomes a dictator just as bad himself and is overthrown by a third political group. Before his execution, he has a HeelRealization and warns his successor that the cycle will continue. Sure enough, his successor is overthrown and executed by a fourth political group. The music video even includes a scene similar to the page image.

* The flying city of Columbia in ''VideoGame/BioshockInfinite''. It was founded by the United States in 1893 but eventually seceded from the Union in 1901. After the Secession, it became a Theocratic Dictatorship under Father Comstock. Then in 1912 the Anarcho-Communist Vox Populi launch a bloody revolution, and [[spoiler:in one possible future, Elizabeth, after being brainwashed by Comstock, takes over and founds an even worse Theocratic Dictatorship that by 1983 leads Columbia to attack New York City.]]
* Sometimes in ''VideoGame/CrusaderKingsII'', you get a situation where there's multiple strong claimants to the throne of a kingdom and no single faction is strong enough to reliably hold the kingdom; this problem is compounded by the fact that new rulers face an opinion penalty from vassals that decreases over time, but is very large at the start. Accordingly, due in part to ArtificialStupidity there's often a merry-go-round where factions rise up and depose the old king, only for the new king to face another revolution. The cycle continues until either one king is finally strong enough to hold things together, or the kingdom splinters under the strain. In the 2.7 patch, the devs added code to make AI faction members more willing to stay loyal to the claimant they originally backed, alleviating the problem somewhat.

** The Romulans went through several governments in a span of thirty years in the backstory of the prime universe. Power struggles went on throughout the 2380s in the wake of [[Film/StarTrekNemesis Shinzon's brief tenure as Praetor]], with the Empire breaking in two at one point (one part seceded and crowned Commander Donatra their empress, then reunified with the rest). Then Praetor Chulan was murdered by [[Film/StarTrek2009 Nero]] right after the Hobus supernova and a couple years of no government at all followed. Admiral Taris eventually came out on top and became Praetor, but got embroiled in a power struggle with the Senate and the military and was eventually forced out in a MilitaryCoup that installed Sela as Praetor. Sela then crowned herself Empress and announced that the Senate would now serve at her pleasure. And then she got kidnapped by [[AbusivePrecursors the Iconians]] in "Cutting the Cord", plunging the Empire into chaos again. WordOfGod said that as of the ''Delta Rising'' expansion, there's almost nothing left of what was formerly one of the three great powers of the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' franchise. Meanwhile a mix of refugees, Reman rebels, Spock's Unificationist followers, and disaffected Imperials formed a democratic successor state, the Romulan Republic, which serves as the Romulan player faction, while the [[StateSec Tal Shiar]] control several planets in their own right.

* In ''The Republia Times'', if you successfully support the rebels in Republia, it becomes "Democria." Your family is killed in the revolution, but the rebels [[BlackComedy set you up with a new wife and child]] and make you the editor-in-chief of the Democria Times. Democria is exactly the same as Republia, and soon a new rebellion asks for your support. Support ''that'', and it's back to Republia...

* The Byzantine Empire, where dynasties could last as much as two or three, or even ''one'', emperors before being overthrown. Its predecessor the [[UsefulNotes/RomanEmpire Roman Empire]] has it just the same with some of its less successful emperors lasting for a matter of weeks.
* For about 80 years from 1789, to 1870, the French underwent repeated revolutions and counter-revolutions as Republicans and Monarchists (divided into three factions, each supporting a different dynasty, and a different style of monarchy) [[GambitPileup battled for control of the government.]] First came the Ancient Regime, then the First Republic (including the Reign of Terror, the Directorate and the Consulate as distinct phases inaugured through violent means), then the First Empire under Napoleon (1804-1814), then the First Bourbon Restoration (1814-1815), then the 100 days (1815), then the Second Bourbon Restoration (1815-1830), then the July Monarchy (1830-1848), then the Second Republic (1848-1852), then the Second Empire (1853-1870), before finally settling on the Third Republic in 1870, which was the first relatively stable French democracy (still prone to short-lived, unstable government), lasting 70 years (longer than any other government in France since the first revolution -- interestingly, it was originally intended to just be a placeholder government until the monarchy was restored, but that fell apart because the leading candidate to take the restored throne made impossible demands and nobody could see how anyone else could take his place[[note]]In further detail: The candidate in question was a reactionary conservative, but was also an elderly childless bachelor who recognized his younger and much more liberal cousin as his legitimate heir. This meant that conservative and liberal monarchists could agree to recognize him as king and the cousin as heir to the throne, and between them they had a majority. But the guy made crazy demands about royal and state symbolism—especially demanding that the flag be changed from the Tricolor to the white flag of the Bourbons—that even the conservatives didn’t want. They thought that because he was old they could just wait for him to die, but they lost their majority to actual republicans before he passed.[[/note]]) until 1940 [[UsefulNotes/SecondWorldWar when it was destroyed by the Nazis and replaced with the collaborationist regime based in Vichy.]] The Fourth Republic was established following WWII and had twenty-four successive cabinets in twelve years, with only ''one'' lasting over a year. The shortest-lived one only lasted ''two days''. Then it collapsed in 1958 as France lost control of its colonies.[[note]]The colonies had been given special status under the new constitution of the Fourth Republic. The Fourth Republic's Constitution was rendered obsolete because the authors of the constitution did not expect to lose the colonies a mere decade later. ItsALongStory.[[/note]] It was replaced by the Fifth Republic, which has remained in power ever since, although there was still a threat of a student-organized revolution in 1968; it fell apart because the more wary industrial workers refused to side with them.
* In 1822 the Haitians invaded what is now the Dominican Republic and drove out the Spanish colonizers. Initially popular, the Dominicans eventually became fed up with the Haitian rule and drove them out, establishing the First Dominican Republic. Later, the Dominican leader made the unpopular move of requesting the Spanish to re-colonize the Dominican Republic, resulting in another civil war where Haitians [[EnemyMine fought alongside]] the very Dominicans they fought years earlier, to drive out the Spanish again.

** In the early 20th century, China went from being an Empire under the Qing dynasty to a Republic following the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, only to be dragged under the rule of a ''de facto'' dictator, whose death in 1916 created a power vacuum that led to a period of regional "warlords" duking it out with each other in order to fill it. The south finally unified in 1926 under the Nationalist Party, who launched a "Northern Expedition" to reunify the entire country, only to plunge right back into civil war again when the Nationalists and Communists turned on each other a year later. This was complicated further by the Japanese invasion and occupation in 1937 which was later merged into the larger UsefulNotes/SecondWorldWar. Following the war, the Communist party seized total control of the mainland, with Taiwan being the sole surviving outpost of the Nationalist party, thus giving rise to a rivalry between the two nations that lasts to this day.

* In ''ComicBook/RobinSeries'' the small fictional country of Transbelvia was once part of the soviet block, then had some chaos getting a government in place, and once that government was in place it proved to be ruthless and tyrannical causing another revolution that Tim gets caught in the middle of briefly when he goes to stop ComicBook/LadyShiva from killing a young revolutionary who has been learning one-hit techniques from various martial arts schools.

* This trope is the theme of the Tim Pool song [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=B-iNIwAFzPw Will of the People]]. A fascist dictator crushes anyone who opposes his rule. A man whose parents were killed by the fascist regime gets his revenge by leading a successful communist revolution but soon becomes a dictator just a bad himself and is overthrown by a third political group. Before his execution, he has a HeelRealization and warns his successor that the cycle will continue. Sure enough, his successor is overthrown and executed by a fourth political group. The music video even includes a scene similar to the page image.

* In a sense, every election in a democracy is a non-violent revolution that either succeeds (a new party comes into power) or fails (the existing party retains power).

Sometimes a nation undergoes a major revolution and completely changes its style of government. Sometimes people lose faith in the new style of government and have another revolution soon after. Sometimes this happens over and over and over again, and that's the Revolving Door Revolution.

The reasons for this can be complex. Maybe the nation in question is extremely polarized in popular opinion. Maybe the successive governments aren't stable, or effective enough to last. Maybe the former rulers and operatives from previous regime switch allegiances to a new party and help toppple the usurpers. Maybe the writers just think it makes for [[RuleOfDrama better drama]] (or [[RuleOfFunny better laughs]], depending on the type of story).

The reasons for this can be complex. Maybe the nation in question is extremely polarized in popular opinion. Maybe the successive governments aren't stable, or effective enough to last. Maybe the writers just think it makes for [[RuleOfDrama better drama]] (or [[RuleOfFunny better laughs]], depending).

These sorts of turnovers are particularly common in your stereotypical BananaRepublic.

* The Romulans went through several governments in a span of thirty years in the backstory of ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline''. Power struggles went on throughout the 2380s in the wake of [[Film/StarTrekNemesis Shinzon's brief tenure as Praetor]], with the Empire breaking in two at one point (one part seceded and crowned Commander Donatra their empress, then reunified with the rest). Then Praetor Chulan was murdered by [[Film/StarTrek2009 Nero]] right after the Hobus supernova and a couple years of no government at all followed. Admiral Taris eventually came out on top and became Praetor, but got embroiled in a power struggle with the Senate and the military and was eventually forced out in a MilitaryCoup that installed Sela as Praetor. Sela then crowned herself Empress and announced that the Senate would now serve at her pleasure. And then she got kidnapped by [[AbusivePrecursors the Iconians]] in "Cutting the Cord", plunging the Empire into chaos again. WordOfGod said that as of the ''Delta Rising'' expansion, there's almost nothing left of what was formerly one of the three great powers of the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' franchise. Meanwhile a mix of refugees, Reman rebels, Spock's Unificationist followers, and disaffected Imperials formed a democratic successor state, the Romulan Republic, which serves as the Romulan player faction, while the [[StateSec Tal Shiar]] control several planets in their own right.

* Lampshaded in ''Spaceship Medic'' by Creator/HarryHarrison. While launching TheMutiny the villain enlists the help of a Mexican scientist on board, [[NationalStereotypes apparently thinking of]] his country's reputation for revolutions. However the scientist is just playing along and launches a counter-mutiny to put TheCaptain back in charge, whereupon he quips that the villain should have remembered his country's reputation for counter-revolutions as well.

** In the early 20th century, China went from being an Empire under the Qing dynasty to a Republic following the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, only to be dragged under the rule of a de facto dictator, whose death in 1916 created a power vacuum that led to a period of regional "warlords" duking it out with each other in order to fill it. The south finally unified in 1926 under the Nationalist Party, who launched a "Northern Expedition" to reunify the entire country, only to plunge right back into civil war again when the Nationalists and Communists turned on each other a year later. This was complicated further by the Japanese invasion and occupation in 1937 which was later merged into the larger UsefulNotes/SecondWorldWar. Following the war, the Communist party seized total control of the mainland, with Taiwan being the sole surviving outpost of the Nationalist party, thus giving rise to a rivalry between the two nations that lasts to this day.

* From the way things are going Egypt is becoming this trope, after then-president Mubarak was kicked from power in 2011, Mohamed Morsi quickly won the seat of the presidency, made moves towards Islamist-style rule, and within two years and with another wave of civil dissidence he was thrown out of office and arrested by a military coup. The military's leader, General Sisi, has since become President and is now another strongman.