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Coup d'etat

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A coup d'état (pronounced /ku de'ta/), or simply a [[Wiktionary:coup|coup]], is the sudden overthrow of a government through unconstitutional means by a part of the state establishment, that mostly replaces just the top power figures. It is also an example of political engineering. It may or may not be violent in nature. 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) blow (or strike) to a state" (literally, coup, hit, and État, state, always written with a capital É in this meaning). The term coup can also be used in a casual sense to mean a gain in advantage of one nation or entity over another; e.g. an intelligence coup. By analogy, the term is also applied to corporations, etc; e.g. a boardroom coup.

Since the unsuccessful coup attempts of Wolfgang Kapp in 1920, and of Adolf Hitler in 1923, the Swiss German word "Putsch" (originally coined with the Züriputsch of 1839) is often used also, even in French (such as the putsch of November 8, 1942 and the putsch of April 21, 1961, both in Algiers), while the direct German translation is Staatsstreich.

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 coup succeeds if its opponents fail to dislodge the plotters, allowing them to consolidate their position, obtain the surrender or acquiescence of the populace and surviving armed forces, and claim legitimacy.

Coups typically use the power of the existing government for its own takeover. As Edward 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.

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History

Coups have long been part of political tradition. Indeed, Julius Caesar orchestrated a coup and was subsequently the victim of another coup. Many Roman emperors, such as Claudius, came to power in coups, as did King Jehu of Israel. Shi'a muslims insist that the seventh century Succession to Muhammad was a coup. In November of 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte staged a coup and seized power in France.

In the late 20th century coups occurred all over the world whilst most commonly in developing countries, in Latin America (e.g. Brazil, Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina), Africa and Asia (Pakistan), but also in the Asia Pacific (Fiji and the Philippines) and in Europe (e.g. Greece, Portugal, Spain, and the Soviet Union). Since the 1980s, the coup has been seen somewhat less frequently. A significant reason is 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 financial crisis in Thailand in 1998 or the Argentine 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.

Coups d'état have often been seen as a means for powerful nations to assure favorable outcomes in smaller foreign states. In particular, the American CIA and Soviet KGB developed a reputation for supporting coups in states such as Chile and Afghanistan, respectively. Such actions are substitutes for direct military intervention which would have been more politically unpopular. The governments of France and Great Britain have, among others, engineered coups as well.

Recent forms of coup

In recent years, use of the traditional military coup has declined. A new, more contemporary form of military intervention which some regard as a coup d'état is simple 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.

In Mauritania a bloodless coup d'état happened on August 3, 2005 when the president was in Saudi Arabia.

In recent years mass street protests have also often been able to force unpopular and corrupt leaders from office in a coup-like fashion. In situations of this sort, such as in Serbia (2000), Argentina (2001), Bolivia (2003), Ukraine (2004–2005), Lebanon, Ecuador and Bolivia (2005), popular uprisings simply forced the sitting political leader to resign their office, causing someone new to assume the role. This often results in a period of stability and calm, in which an unknown and uncontroversial interim leader can rule the nation until new elections can be held.

In 2002 the United States allegedly supported a coup in Venezuela against President Hugo Chávez, despite Chávez having been elected by popular vote in two consecutive elections. The coup failed, mainly due to sizable public protests in support of Chávez which dwarfed rallies launched by his opponents. Chávez was returned to office two days after the coup, the provisional military junta was dissolved, and the democratic government survived a referendum on new elections by a large margin. In cases such as these, popular protests have been able to prevent coups and place popular leaders back in office.

Types of coups

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

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.

There is also a category known as bloodless coups in which the mere threat of violence is enough to force the current government to step aside. Bloodless coups are so called because they involve no violence and thus no bloodshed. Napoleon's 18 Brumaire coup is often pointed out as an example of bloodless coup, showing that bloodless coups are not always considered to be "bloodless": on 18 Brumaire, several members of parliament were thrown out the windows of the building where they assembled. More recently, Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan came to power in a bloodless coup in 1999.

The term self-coup is used when the current government assumes extraordinary powers not allowed by the legislation. A historical example is the actions of then President and later French Emperor Louis Napoléon Bonaparte in 1851 against the powerful National Assembly; while a most modern example is Alberto Fujimori in Peru, who was democratically elected, but later took control of the legislative and judicial powers. Some argue that the assumption of "emergency powers" by King Gyanendra of Nepal is a self-coup.

Post-military-coup governments

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 best way to solve the problems their country is facing 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.

Currently-serving leaders who came to power via coups

See also

External links

References

 

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