What Is “Demonstration Effect?”

The first time I came across the intriguing little phrase “demonstration effect” was while reading the history of the testy Lebanese Shiite organization Hizbullah in Ahmad Nizar Hamzeh’s terrific new book titled “In the Path of Hizbullah” (Syracuse University Press, 2004) (see also Biot #174). Hamzeh is a political science professor at American University of Beirut.

Hamzeh defines the term demonstration effect as “a revolutionary event in one place [that] may act as a catalyst for a revolutionary process in another place at approximately the same point in time.” (p. 17) He credits this definition to Thomas H. Greene whose book “Comparative Revolutionary Movements” (1984) is out of print but still available used for 99 cents. Hamzeh argues that the 1979 Iranian Revolution had a “demonstration effect”—that is, catalyzed the emergence of Hizbullah in Lebanon.

Hamzeh further expounds on “demonstration effect” as follows: “Demonstration effect depends on a number of factors, most important being the success of the initial revolution, the cross-cultural reference of the ideology characterizing the revolution, and the effectiveness of communication networks. Many examples confirm that the demonstration effect functions as a catalyst for analogous revolutionary movement or activity elsewhere. The success of the American Revolution, for example, is often cited as contributing to the outbreak of the French Revolution. The French Revolution in 1789 was immediately followed by revolutionary activity in central and northern Europe. The victory of the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 inspired communist revolts in central Europe. The demonstration effect of Iran’s Islamic Revolution is no exception.

The success of the Islamic Revolution in Iran that followed the fall of the shah in January 1979 became the primary demonstration effect for Islamic activists, Shiite and Sunni alike. Iran’s Islamic Revolution first inspired and targeted the Shiite population of countries adjacent to Iran, across the Persian Gulf, and as far as the Mediterranean: Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Afghanistan, and Lebanon. Yet Iran’s revolution had its greatest impact in Lebanon. Despite the fact that Lebanon is not adjacent to Iran, the Lebanese Shiites were the most receptive of all Shiites to Iran’s Islamic revolutionary message.” (p. 18)

Not content with this rendering of the meaning of “demonstration effect” I took to the Web to find out what others thought it meant and in what context they used the term. This is what I found.

1. Among computer technocrats, demonstration effect means “the diffusion model of technological change, the assumption that those seeing a successful demonstration of new technology will consider adopting it (“ Computers and Society Glossary” at

http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/perrolle/glossary.html).

2. Among travel agent educators, demonstration effect means “The phenomenon of local residents adopting the styles and manners they have observed in visiting tourists” (“Global Travel Training” at http://www.globaltraveltraining.com/glossary.asp?cat=d).

3. Daniele Conversi of the London School of Economics writes that “ demonstration effect signifies more general influences on nationalist movements exerted by 'external' models.”

She further explains that “In our definition, domino effect refers to a movement of structural and international changes brought about by the emulation of successful independence movements. Demonstration effect refers instead to the reshaping of ideological orientation within nationalist movements across frontiers as stimulated by international events. The former concept is somewhat more restricted, insofar as it is only a particular kind of the latter with immediate implications in concrete political alignments. If demonstration is about models, domino is about facts. There are two kinds of proved and relevant demonstration effect: 1. Instrumental; 2. Empathic” (“ Domino effect or internal developments? The influences of international events and political ideologies on Catalan and Basque nationalism” at: h ttp://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/conversi/domino).

4. Robert Nolan (Foreign Policy Association), Louis Lapham (Harper’s Magazine at: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1111/is_1837_306/ai_103124277), and others write passionately about the demonstration effect of the U.S. fighting in Iraq-- right in the middle of the Middle East, catalyzing change. For example, Nolan writes the following:

“No country has lost more from the U.S.-led victory in Iraq than Syria, indicating that Syria might be the second domino to fall [please see Daniele’s domino effect vs. demonstration effect in #3 above], by force or by fear, in the American plan to bring democracy to the region. Once a pro-U.S. government is established in Baghdad, Damascus will be almost encircled by U.S. allies and partners: Israel, Turkey, Iraq and Jordan. The impact of such geopolitical isolation is not lost on proponents of the “demonstration effect.” Those who support the bold task of transforming the Middle East towards democracy admit that while a formal doctrine has yet to be articulated, momentum and an American willingness to exert power in the region have at least shaped a number of guiding principles. ‘The power of the Iraqi example may cause them to rethink the costs of supporting terrorism and other mayhem, write the editors of the Wall Street Journal. ‘One benefit of liberating Baghdad is that we may improve the behavior of [rogue] regimes without having to fight’” ( April 17, 2003, “ Demonstration Effect: The U.S. in the Middle East” at: http://www.fpa.org/newsletter_info2583/newsletter_info_sub_list.htm?section=
Demonstration%20Effect%3A%20The%20U.S.%20in%20the%20Middle%20East).

5. My favorite use of “demonstration effect” is in the area of intergenerational giving. For example, Donald Cox and Oded Stark in their article titled “ On the Demand for Grandchildren: Tied Transfers and the Demonstration Effect” argue the following:

“Most private giving between living generations takes the form of ‘tied’ transfers, such as help with housing downpayments. We argue that parents provide help with downpayments in order to encourage the production of grandchildren, and that such a subsidization emanates from the “demonstration effect:” a child’s propensity to furnish parents with attention and care can be conditioned by parental example. Parents who desire such transfers in the future have an incentive to make transfers to their own parents in order to instill appropriate preferences in their children. This generates a derived demand for grandchildren since potential grandparents will be treated better by their adult children if the latter have their own children to whom to demonstrate the appropriate behavior. Empirical work, based on waves 1 and 2 of the National Survey of Families and Households, indicates behavior consistent with subsidization of the production of grandchildren and the demonstration effect” (Institute for Advanced Studies somewhere in Germany, at: http://www.ihs.ac.at/index.php3?id=330&sr=378.

Editor’s Note : Someone needs to write a book about demonstration effect.