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Coup d'état

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A coup d'état (pronounced koo-deh-tah) is the sudden overthrow of a government, usually done by a small group that just replaces the top power figures. It is different from a revolution, which is staged by a larger group and radically changes the political system. The term is French for "a sudden stroke, or blow, of state policy".

Tactically, a coup usually involves control of some active portion of the military while neutralizing the remainder of a country's armed services. This active group captures or expels leaders, seizes physical control of important government offices, means of communication, and the physical infrastructure, such as streets and power plants. The trick is making it stick.

Coups typically use the power of the existing government for its own takeover. As Edwart Luttwak remarks in his Coup d'état: A practical handbook: "A coup consists of the infiltration of a small but critical segment of the state apparatus, which is then used to displace the government from its control of the remainder." In this sense, use of military or other organized force is not the defining feature of a coup d'état. Any seizure of the state apparatus by extra-legal tactics may be considered a coup, according to Luttwak.

Coups have long been part of political tradition. Many Roman emperors, such as Caligula and his successor Claudius, came to power in coups. Indeed, Julius Caesar was the victim of a coup. Modern dictators such as Mussolini and Hitler also benefited from coups.

In the 20th century the coup has been most common in developing countries, particularly in Latin America.

Since the 1980s, the coup has been seen somewhat less frequently. This is due in part to changes to U.S. foreign policy in which authoritarian governments have been looked at less favorably, particularly since the end of the Cold War.

However, a much more significant reason was the general inability to resolve the economic and political problems of developing nations, which has made armed forces, particularly in Latin America, much more reluctant to intervene in politics. Hence, in contrast to past crises, the armed forces have sat on the sidelines through economic crises such as the Asian crisis in Thailand in 1998 or the Argentina crisis of 2002 and have tended to act only when the military perceives itself as institutionally threatened by the civilian government, as occurred in Pakistan in 1999.

One form of military intervention which some regard as a coup d'état is the use of the threat of military force to remove a particularly unpopular leader. This has occurred twice in the Philippines. In contrast to previous coups d'état, the military does not directly assume power, but rather serves as an arbiter for civilian leaders.

Types of coups

Samuel Huntington has divided coups into three types (ignoring Luttwak's non-military coups)

  • breakthrough coups - In which a revolutionary army overthrows a traditional government and creates a new bureaucratic elite. Breakthrough coups are generally led by NCO's or junior officers and only happen once. Examples include China in 1911 and Egypt in 1956.
  • guardian coups - These coups have been described as musical chairs. The stated aims of this form of coup is to improve public order, efficiency, or to end corruption. There is usually no fundamental shift in the structure of power. Many nations with guardian coups undergo many shifts between civilian and military governments. Examples include Pakistan, Turkey, and Thailand.
  • veto coups - These coups occur when the army vetoes mass participation and social mobilization. In these cases the army must confront and suppress large-scale and broad-based opposition and as a result they tend to be repressive and bloody. Examples include Chile in 1973 and Argentina in 1975.

Coups can also be classified by the level of the military that leads the coup. Veto coups and guardian coups tend to be led by senior officers. Breakthrough coups tend to be led by junior officers or NCOs. In cases where the coup is led by junior officers or enlisted men, the coup is also a mutiny which can have grave implications for the organizational structure of the military.

Post-military-coup goverments

After the coup, the military is faced with the issue of the type of government to establish. In Latin America, it was common for the post-coup government to be led by a junta, a committee of the chiefs of staff of the various armed forces. A common form of African post-coup government is the revolutionary assembly, a quasi-legislative body made of members elected by the army. In Pakistan, the military leader typically assumes the title of chief martial law administrator.

According to Huntington, most coup leaders act under the concept of right orders: they believe that the correct approach to government is to issue correct orders. This view of government underestimates the difficulty in implementing government policy and the amount of possible political resistance to certain orders.

Well-known coups:

External references

  • Edward Luttwak, Coup d'etat: A practical handbook, Harvard University Press, 1969, 1980. ISBN: 06-741-75476
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