Fundamentally, all revolutions are about social and/or political transformation, a trait they all share in common. By definition, a revolution cannot be launched to maintain or preserve the status quo.

Beyond this fundamental, definitional similarity, the common characteristics of revolution is a subject of debate.

In the relative deprivation model, all revolutions represent a reaction to the gap between social or economic conditions and public expectations of the correct constitution of social or economic conditions. The revolutions of the Arab Spring might be explained according to the relative deprivation model.

By contrast, Theda Skocpol argues that revolutions are the result of a specific set of conditions originating in international relations. She states that states engage in costly competition with each other, as a result of which weaker states must pursue policies of greater state centralization to increase their global competitiveness; this, in turn, leads to domestic discontent and an opening for revolution. All of the revolutions of Eastern Europe in the late 1980s and early 1990s might be explained this way.

According to Crane Brinton's respected "Theory of Revolution," all revolutions have certain symptoms in common.  A common condition of all of these symptoms is an ineffective government.  Revolutions happen when the government is unwilling or unable to meet the basic needs of its citizens. People across all socioeconomic classes become unhappy with the government and will unify and overthrow said government.

Often times the anger directed towards governments is due to irresponsibility in terms of its fiscal policies.   Governments that are overthrown often cannot organize their finances correctly and are either going bankrupt or trying to tax the citizens heavily and unjustly.  

Another quality shared by revolutions is that the government has stripped citizens of basic human and civil rights.  The citizens become disillusioned by unacceptable restrictions in the economy, society, or religion.  

In short, all revolutions have this in common: citizens are unhappy with the actions of its government.