Military coup is a political event in which an army or other armed forces take control of the government. Coups can be either successful or unsuccessful and they can lead to dictatorships or democracy.
Coups can be planned and executed by a small group of officers or they can be spontaneous and unexpected. In both cases, they are usually backed by a larger network of civilian supporters. These civilians can include political parties, the media, religious groups and even some members of the armed forces who support the coup and its goals. They can also include those who share the coupists’ political ideology or whose interests and power positions are weakened by a civilian regime.
The broader network of support can also include powerful business people and even foreign governments. This interplay between civilian and military factions can influence the longevity of a military coup, whether it is successful or not, and whether or not it allows for the restoration of democratic rule.
Military coups should be understood in the context of the wider social struggle for the state. This requires researchers and international observers to understand the nature of the civilian segments supporting military takeovers, and it should be a key element in their evaluation. It can help to explain why certain military coups succeed or fail, and it can help to inform the design of strategies for preventing them in the future. For example, those instigating and consolidating military takeovers can be better thwarted by making clear to them that international aid will be suspended in the event of a takeover.