Military coup is the sudden seizure of power by members of the armed forces. These events can dismantle democratic institutions and establish authoritarian regimes. They can also hamper efforts to strengthen democracy by entrenching military rule in newly independent states for years to come.
Despite the widespread perception of military coups as dangerous to democracy, research suggests that they are not inevitable. Instead, coups are often caused by a combination of factors. One important factor is that the armed forces are trained to operate under command and control structures, which make them susceptible to being drawn into conspiracies against civilian governments. Moreover, the same mindset that draws soldiers into coup plots can lead them to oppose any government they perceive as undemocratic.
Civilians are another important factor in facilitating and consolidating coups. They may rally civilian-led protests in support of a military takeover or assume significant governing tasks alongside a new junta. They may also help to weed out or marginalize critics of the junta – as they have done in Niger and Mali, for example. In Benin’s thwarted coup attempt, the civilian organizers were not soldiers but part of the governing bureaucracy and elite civil society.
Of the 492 coups that have occurred around the world since 1950, 220 have taken place in Africa, according to researchers Jonathan Powell and Clayton Thyne. They say this is partly because African countries are often poorer and more unstable, which can lead to conditions that encourage coups. But they also note that coup leaders often claim the deteriorating security situation and economic decline in their country justifies exceptional measures that curtail some civil liberties.