A military coup is the sudden, violent overthrow of an existing government by a small group. Merriam-Webster defines the term, and Cambridge does so as well: “a sudden decisive use of force in politics by a group.” Unlike revolutions, which involve large numbers of people fighting for fundamental social, economic, and political change, military coups are often limited to the abrupt replacement of top government personnel.
Coups are rarely successful without civilian support, although it is not a requirement. Civilians could help by supporting protests or taking on important governing tasks alongside the new military junta. In some cases, such as Niger in 2023, they may even enlist in a pro-junta militia.
In many cases, juntas intervene in politics either because they fear the emergence of civilian power or because their polity faces a real or perceived security crisis. As a result, they have little inclination to allow democratic processes to return to the pre-coup norm of civilian dominance over politics.
Some countries are more prone to coups than others. Africa, for instance, has suffered the most from the recent resurgence in putsches. But this does not necessarily mean that the continent has fallen back into praetorian politics. Instead, coups have more to do with democracy’s failure than any fondness for military rule. In addition, the resurgence in coups is likely due to a weakening of anti-coup norms internationally. Nonetheless, the resurgence of military coups has some worrying implications for democracy.