A 'coup d'état' (pronounced ), or simply 'coup', is the sudden overthrow of a
government, often through illegal means by a part of the state establishment — mostly replacing just the high-level figures. It is also an example of
political engineering. It can be (although not necessarily) violent, but it is different from a
revolution, which is staged by a larger group and radically changes the political system through unconstitutional means.
The term is
French for "a (sudden) blow (or strike) to a state" (literally, ''coup'', hit, and ''état'',
state, ). 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'" (pronounced ) (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) and
Russian (
August Putsch in 1991), 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 '': "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.
Etymology
Unusually, this is a political action that does not have an English equivalent. English speaking writers typically borrow either “Coup d'État,” the French expression, or the German word, “Putsch.”
The coup d'État has been used in politics well into ancient times.
[1] The expression itself is relatively new. According to the
Oxford Dictionary, in 1646 Howell first used coup d'État in his book
Lewis XIII, Life of Richelieu. It was first used in
England in 1811 by Thompson, referring to
Napoleon Bonaparte's 1799 overthrow of the
Revolutionary Directory.
According to Prof. Thomas Childers of the
University of Pennsylvania the lack of a word to denote a sudden unconstitutional change of government derives from the political institutions of England. Although
France’s and
Germany’s history are liberally colored by this type of political event, the history of England is not. England's last coup d’état was the 1688
Glorious Revolution, in which
William of Orange, together with a group of parliamentarians, overthrew
James II, the last
Roman Catholic English ruler and facilitated the establishing of a modern
parliamentary democracy. In England, this is an action that occurs very rarely, and for which there has not been the need to create a word.
Near cousins of the coup
The traditional analogue of the military coup in
Spain and the
Spanish American republics was termed a ''pronunciamiento'' (literally, "pronouncement" or "declaration"). The term itself deemphasizes the military aspect of the coup, and instead focuses on the customary statement issued by the leader or leaders of the insurgent forces, which declared the existing government null and void and explained their reasons for rebelling. These ''pronunciamientos'' were often published as formal written documents in order to attract popular support for the uprising, thus blurring the line between coup and insurrection. In
Mexico, where such declarations were often quite detailed, formal, and issued as written texts, they were given the name of ''
plans''. A prominent example of a ''pronunciamiento'' in the
history of Spain was the successful coup of September 1868 against the reigning queen,
Isabel II, who was driven from the country by military forces headed by
General Prim and
General Serrano.
In the recent years, the traditional military coup has declined worldwide. The more usual form of military intervention, which some regard as coups d'état, uses the ''threat'' of military force to remove a vulnerable or unpopular leader. In contrast to straight coups d'état, the military does not directly assume power, but rather installs civilian leaders it finds more palatable. One advantage of this tactic is the appearance of greater legitimacy. A classic example is the collapse of the
French Fourth Republic. This has also occurred twice in the
Philippines. In
Mauritania a bloodless coup d'état happened on
August 3,
2005 when the president was in
Saudi Arabia.
In recent years, there have been several examples of the potential for mass street
protests to persuade the military to withdraw its support from leaders, sometimes leading the opposition to take power in coup-like fashion. In situations of this sort, such as in
Serbia (2000),
Argentina (2001),
Philippines (1986 & 2001),
Bolivia (2003),
Georgia (2003),
Ukraine (2004-2005),
Lebanon,
Ecuador and
Bolivia (2005), popular uprisings forced the sitting political leader to resign from 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 run the government until new elections can be held. These events are not generally called coups, because they are not orchestrated by a small group but are the result of popular action. The
Iranian
Islamic Revolution of 1979 could be put in this category, although it was clearly led by the
Ayatollah Khomeini, because it began with deep-seated popular opposition to the rule of the last
Shah of Iran, whose father's rule had begun with a military coup assisted by foreign intelligence agencies, and whose rule had been oppressive and
kleptocratic. No doubt, much of the anti-Shah opposition had been hoping to establish a democratic government; what they got was what the Ayatollah wanted: a
theocracy, which lingers on despite significant popular opposition.
Types of coups
Samuel P. 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
non-commissioned officers (NCOs) or junior officers and only happen once. Examples include
China in 1911,
Egypt in 1952,
Greece in 1967,
Libya in 1969,
Bulgaria in 1944 and
Liberia in 1980.
★ 'Guardian coups': These coups have been described as
musical chairs. The stated aim 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, and the leaders of these types of coups generally portray their actions as a temporary and unfortunate necessity. One of the early examples of this is the coup by
Sulla in 88 BC which displaced the elected leadership of
Marius in
Rome. A more recent instance was when ruling civilian
Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was overthrown by
Chief of Army Staff General
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq in 1977, the latter whom cited widespread
civil disorder and impending civil war as justification for his taking power. Just over two decades later General
Pervez Musharraf overthrew Pakistani Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif on mostly the same grounds in 1999. Many nations with guardian coups undergo many shifts between civilian and military governments. Examples include
Pakistan,
Turkey, and
Thailand. Bloodless coups usually arise from Guardian coups.
★ '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 1976. An abortive and botched veto coup occurred in
Venezuela in 2002.
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, and
Sonthi Boonyaratglin came to power in Thailand at the head of the
Council for Democratic Reform under Constitutional Monarchy in 2006
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 more 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 was 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. It also presupposes that everyone that matters in the country shares a single common interest, and the only question is how to pursue it.
Currently-serving leaders who came to power via coups
★
Muammar al-Qaddafi, leader of
Libya (1969–)
★
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President of
Equatorial Guinea (1979–)
★
Lansana Conté, President of
Guinea (1984–)
★
Blaise Compaoré, President of
Burkina Faso (1987–)
★
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, President of
Tunisia (1987–)
★
Than Shwe, Military General, Head of Junta,
Myanmar (
Burma) (1988–)
★
Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir, President of
Sudan (1989–)
★
Yahya Jammeh, President of
The Gambia (1994–)
★
Pervez Musharraf, Chief of Army Staff and President of
Pakistan (1999–)
★
François Bozizé, President of the
Central African Republic (2003–)
★
Sonthi Boonyaratglin, Chairman of the
Council for Democratic Reform under Constitutional Monarchy in
Thailand, Present President of the
Council for National Security (2006–)
★ Commodore
Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, Head of the Fijian Army, Acting Prime Minister of
Fiji (2006–)
See also
★
List of coups d'état and coup attempts
★ Contrast with
civilian control of the military
★
List of protective service agencies
★
List of fictional revolutions and coups
★
Dictatorship
★
Kleptocracy
★
Political corruption
★
Assassination
★
Military dictatorship
Notes
1. Julius Caesar's civil war, January 10, 49 BC
External links
★
News articles related to Thai Coup 2006
★ 'Discussion in Turkish language :' http://www.derindusunce.org/2007/04/25/onun-adi-asker-cani-neler-ister/
References
★ http://www.govintelligence.com/history/coup-d'etat.html
★
Edward Luttwak, ''Coup d'état: A practical handbook'', Harvard University Press, 1969, 1980. ISBN 06-741-75476.
★
Curzio Malaparte, ''Technique du Coup d'Etat'' (Published in French), Paris, 1931.
★ D. J. Goodspeed, ''Six Coups d'Etat'',
Viking Press inc., New-York, 1962.
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