How do coups work?

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Why do generals attempting to coup always storm the palace? What happens next? Why do ordinary soldiers follow them? Are they in on the plot?

In: Economics

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Anonymous 0 Comments

Coups are really interesting because they hit at that intersection of the two conceptions we have of power – there is power in terms of force: the threat of violence to get people do what you want, and there is power in terms of legitimacy: getting people to do what you want because you _deserve_ to be listened to.

A coup is using the first to get some of the second. Ideally, you use a short burst of violence to commandeer the institutions of the state, and then everyone goes back to their lives, except you’re in charge now.

Storming the palace hits at both of these conceptions of power. In a practical sense, you have to get rid of the old power structure, and the easiest way to do that is to physically threaten them with violence, and that means you have to be where they are. You need to have guns to their heads making sure they don’t call their friends or make any orders to counter you.

In a more symbolic sense, taking the palace endows you with legitimacy. It’s easier to claim to be the legitimate authority if you have all the trappings of power, and that means the office and the desk and the palace guards.

Why do ordinary soldiers go along? Sometimes they don’t really know anything beforehand. In countries with strong militaries and weak civilian governments, ordinary soldiers are often willing to do what their commanding officers say, even if that means going in to arrest the president. In countries with stronger governments, the ordinary soldier often has something to gain: perhaps the civilian leadership is running the country into the ground. Perversely, sometimes soldiers rise up because civilian leaderships try to treat their people better… by redistributing benefits away from the smaller military class.

What happens after a coup? Assuming you’ve made it into the palace, the president is under guard in some back room, and you’ve secured the key points of the country, it’s time to proclaim your rule and explain what you’ve done. If you’ve shown enough strength, the power brokers will decide it’s not worth fighting you (openly anyway), and you’ve won for now.

If you haven’t, some disgruntled general or politician might openly declare against you, and then it’ll be you fighting off rebels.

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