A coup d’état, usually shortened to coup, is the removal and seizure of a government, constitution and its powers. Normal, it is an unconstitutional,illegal seizure of power by a political faction, a dictator, or the military. Many scholars consider a coup successful when the usurpers seize and hold power for at least a week.
A 2016 study categorizes four possible outcomes to coups in dictatorships:
- Failed coup
- No regime change, such as when a leader is illegally shuffled out of power without changing the identity of the group in power or the rules for governing
- Replacement of incumbent with another dictatorship
- Ousting of the dictatorship followed by democratization (also called “democratic coups”)
Launching a Military Coup
The study found that about half of all coups in dictatorships—both during and after the Cold War—install new autocratic regimes. New dictatorships launched by coups engage in higher levels of repression in the year that follows the coup than existed in the year leading to the coup. One-third of coups in dictatorships during the Cold War and 10% of later ones reshuffled the regime leadership. Democracies were installed in the wake of 12% of Cold War coups in dictatorships and 40% of post-Cold War ones.
Coups occurring in the post-Cold War period have been more likely to result in democratic systems than pre-Cold War coups, although coups still mostly perpetuate authoritarianism. Coups that occur during civil wars shorten the war’s duration.
Dictators, Rulers, and International terrorists all use the same technique. When they see that the target country is soft, that nation becomes an easy target and the leader of the coup d’etat will gain instant support from their base of support. It’s as simple as that, yet many people do not understand the technique. In this article we will discuss how to launch a military coup using this very technique.
The first step in all of this is to have your military coup leader become a head of state or leader of a country. Once they are appointed, they then make their way into the capital city. They hold a rally and use a megaphone to relay their message to the masses. They also plan what actions they are going to take from here on out.
The next step is to get the masses to side with them. They do this by reassuring the public and media. Leaders use words such as; “This is only a misunderstanding, and that there are no weapons going off.” This is an extremely appealing message and one that has a deep appeal to the public. The leaders convince the public that their leadership is right and the public is wrong for reacting in that way.
In fact, many people believe that how these military coups work is similar to the methods used by international terrorists. Leaders encourages the public to express outrage at the news and publicly support them. They tell everyone that it’s only a misunderstanding, and then release information about the weapons they have and where they are located. Many people believe that these leaders who are designated as legitimate government leaders use the tactics of international terrorist groups in the same manner as these groups do.
Of course, we know that many people who become supporters of terrorist groups also use the Internet, social networking sites, and other venues to communicate with supporters and recruit new members for their cause. It is interesting how many people use these types of venues to communicate these ideas and desires. If so, why does the leadership use public platforms to convince the public that their cause is right? Is it not more important for them to convince the public of their legitimacy as leaders?
If history is any indication, however, future leaders might not have much of a problem once they start removing those leaders who are perceived as illegitimate. It would seem to be something of a slippery slope if the current leaders can’t stick it out long enough to prove that they can be trusted with power. Then, of course, they wouldn’t have anyone left to stand up to them.
