military coups
Generals seizing power
A military coup is a sudden seizure of government power by armed forces, typically involving the arrest or removal of civilian leadership.
The plural coups retains the French silent s.
Military coups often occur when generals or other high-ranking officers believe civilian government has failed or threatens national stability, though the stated justifications frequently mask simple power grabs.
The country has experienced three military coups since independence.
- regime changeReplacement of governing power
- power strugglesConflicts over dominance
- political instabilityFragile governmental conditions
- authoritarianismConcentrated, unchecked governmental power
- martial lawArmed forces governance
putsch · troop mobilization · armed forces · presidential guard · junta · civil war · political dissidents · political purges · rebel factions · human rights abuses · covert operations · radio silence · dictatorship · repression · refugee crises · curfew · power grab · dawn raid
- Latin AmericaArgentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Cuba
- turkeyIstanbul, Ankara, turkey breast, turkey leg, Anatolia
- PakistanIslamabad, Karachi, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan
- Philippine historypresidents, Spanish rule, vice president, revolutionaries, Imelda
- Spanish HistoryReconquista, Spanish Inquisition, Spanish Empire, conquistadors, Catholic Monarchs
- Colombian HistorySimon Bolivar, Bogota, Conservative Party, Liberal Party, civil wars
military coupsdemocratic elections
Voting by the populace
popular vote · abdication · free elections · electoral processes · electoral process
military coupspolitical stability
Enduring, predictable state authority
constitutional order · rule of law · status quo · peaceful coexistence
military coupscivilian rule
Government by elected officials
popular sovereignty · consent of the governed · civil authority · representative government · representative democracy