Coup d\'etat

A coup d'etat is a change of being able suddenly, imposed by surprise, by a minority using the force. One distinguishes it from a Révolution in what this one is popular and massive, whereas a coup d'etat is carried out by an small group, like the “quarter of generals” (de Gaulle in connection with the Putsch of Algiers) or some colonels who violently seize the power in order to found a Junte.

The term French of coup d'etat (Coup d'etat of the 18 brumaire) was taken again, such as it is, in English (inter alia), because there is no word of English origin to describe this type of operation. The word putsch of origin Suisse German E is equivalent and is commonly used in French, more rarely in English who uses the French formula or his shortened version, blow . It, at the time modern, was popularized by the coups d'etat lacked 1920 and 1923 in Germany (Putsch of Kapp and Putsch of Munich). To note, that starting from English, the word coup d'etat passed to the Japanese (クーデター, kūdetā ).

As for the Spanish term Pronunciamiento , it indicates military risings which do not take necessarily the form of coups d'etat (the golpe of Estado , as for him, literally translated “coup d'etat”).

Techniques

Catch of the central bodies of the capacity

  • the secrecy, not only with respect to outside but also with respect to the other plotters, constitutes the first weapon of the putschists, that without which the best preparations are likely to crumble.
    • Thus, one of the reasons of the failure of the putsch of Kapp with Berlin in 1920, was the lack of discretion of the general von Luttwitz, military chief of the operation, which went to present the evening of the March 10th an ultimatum to controlling socialist, and left them 48 hours to be turned over, before starting the announced military putsch, in the night of the 12 to the March 13rd 1920.
    • Thus, during the preparation of the Putsch of November 8th, 1942 to Algiers (intended to allow the success of the Torch Operation), the young chief of the action groups ofAlgiers, Jose Aboulker, refused, although it trusted him, to give to Henri d' Astier of Vigerie, person in charge of the conspiracy for the North Africa, the names of its team leaders before the last two days preceding the action. Thus, when the patriots passed to the action, the surprise was it so total that these 400 badly armed civilians, ordered by their reserve officers, succeeded in neutralizing, alone, the Vichyist army corps of Algiers. Indeed, the Vichyist authorities, released at the end of a few hours, endeavoured, without same reaching that point, to completely reconquer the city instead of tackling the forces allied on the beaches. So that these last could unload without resistance, encircle Algiers and capture this large intact port the evening even of the unloading.
  • the basic technique of the coup d'etat consists in seizing the central bodies of the State or neutralizing them, by occupying their places of operation which are also the symbolic systems places of the capacity.
  • Thus proceeded Napoleon Bonaparte, at the time of its coup d'etat of the 18 brumaire. Having the support of the army, it had to control the civil capacity. However, under the Directory, the France had a turning executive formed of 5 directors who followed one another, in turn, for periods limited to a few weeks. So that it was not enough to control this turning executive, because the reality of the civil capacity lay in a Parliament weakened itself by its division in two rooms. This is why Bonaparte, in agreement with two directors, Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès and Roger Ducos, was especially worried to disperse this Parliament, of which one of the rooms, the Conseil of the Five hundred, was chaired by his/her brother Lucien Bonaparte. But instead of briefly announcing its takeover with the members of Parliament, Bonaparte found the means of being mislaid in a bombastic speech, and was made attack by several elected officials. So that the coup d'etat was saved only by his/her brother, who ordered with pomegranates to restore the order by dispersing the recalcitrant elected officials. Bonaparte then constituted a Executive council of 3 members made up of itself, Siéyès and Ducos, that the Conseil of Old the transformed the following day into executive consular Commission.
  • But it is not enough to seize the central bodies to the State. It is also necessary to stop controlling them, or else it will be permissible with those to organize a response.
    • It is what occurred in Berlin, in 1920, where the socialist ministers, informed in advance, by the ultimatum of the military chief of the putschists, took the broad one before the arrival of the Irregular force Ehrhardt. After which, once taken refuge in province, they successfully called the population with a general strike whose success enabled them to take again the capacity.

Regularization of the takeovers

At the time of a coup d'etat, a constitutional and institutional “vacuum” appears. It is thus necessary, generally, to regularize this vacuum by creating a news Constitution, thus allowing the exercise of new a originating constituent capacity.

Thus the executive consular Commission chaired by Bonaparte presented, the 22 Frimaire, its consular constitution project to both Conseils of Old the and the Five hundred which ratified it, thus making return the new mode in legality. The takeover of De Gaulle in 1958, who is connected under certain aspects with a coup d'etat, concluded with creation from the Constitution from 1958, into force in France.

Another solution of regularization of a coup d'etat can be found by a Plébiscite, like those of Napoleon III, or by elections. Thus, their political action is found legitimated a posteriori . However, this solution often proceeds after the establishment of a news Constitution, in an authoritative way, without recourse to the Vote for all and the democratic principle .

New targets of the modern coups d'etat

  • With the catch of the public buildings, seats of the bodies of the capacity, was added the catch of the radio, whose detention can make it possible to give to the population information suitable to discourage any attempt at response to the coup d'etat.
  • Moreover during the modern time, the authors of coups d'etat took the practice to cut or monopolize the means of communication (Téléphone, Télégraphe), the arsenals, the Gare S, etc * But the control of the telephone calls played especially a crucial role, at the time of the putsch of November 8th, 1942 in Algiers, by which 400 resistant badly armed civilians succeeded in stopping the holders of the Vichyist capacity in North Africa (Alphonse Juin and François Darlan) and neutralizing to them XIXe army corps, thus allowing the success of the operation Torch. At this point in time having cut the normal phone network of Algiers, the rebellious staff, which had settled with the Central police station, took the control of the official network, only maintained in service. Thus could it follow from there occupation of the strategic points by the resistant ones between 0:30 and 1 hour of the morning, and kept it then the contact with their team leaders during all the operation. But especially, it is by this official network, made only usable, that the chiefs of resistance accepted the alarmed calls of the Vichyist personalities, awaked by the duel of Artillerie of the port which has occurred around 3 hours of the morning. The resistant ones then convened them with the Central police station in their making believe that were awaited they there to organize resistance to the allies. Thus, for the first time in the History, the hostile personalities with a coup d'etat came from themselves to be made stop by the putschists: It was thus, in particular, of the assistant of the governor-general of the Algérie Ettori, which, the day before arrogant and keen partisan of collaboration, was spread suddenly in supplications and sobs.

Who are the authors of the coups d'etat?

  • the coups d'etat are usually carried out by soldiers against controlling civil, for example Augusto Pinochet with the Chile.
  • the putsches carried out by civilians generally failed, like the blow tried by Adolf Hitler with Munich in 1923. It there has at least exception, that of Putsch of November 8th, 1942 with Algiers, already quoted, where they are 400 civilians of Algiers, ordered by student of 22 years, Jose Aboulker, and by their reserve officers, of which most notable was lieutenant Henri d' Astier of Vigerie which succeeded, alone, with the assistance of some rare officers of active, like colonels Jousse and Baril, to neutralize during 15 hours the Vichyist army corps of Algiers until its surrounding by the allies and with its rendering the very same day.
  • to be noted, in addition, that the authors of the coups d'etat generally belong, themselves, with the apparatus of State, as it was the case of Siéyès, Paul Barras and Bonaparte.
  • Of many coups d'etat was organized in Africa by individuals suspected of working for the secret services of the old colonial powers, like Bob Denard, in order to set up a government which is more favorable to them.

Reception reserved for the coups d'etat

So that the results of the coup d'etat are acquired, it is preferable that they correspond to the wishes of the majority of the public opinion and that they are compatible with the international context.

Reception of the public opinion

  • the coup d'etat de Bonaparte the 18 brumaire answered the will of the majority of the French, who, wearied revolutionary agitations in all kinds, wished a durable re-establishment of the order, and auprès of which Bonaparte enjoyed a strong popularity.
  • the Putsch of Algiers of April 1961, perpetrated by four known generals, also profited him from the support of part of the opinion but of the local opinion only, because the French, consulted previously by Charles de Gaulle on the self-determination of Algeria, had decided massively in favor of its policy. Moreover, in the forces of North Africa themselves, the soldiers of the metropolitan quota who had many portable radios, directly accepted the call pronounced by de Gaulle against the generals and refused to follow their superiors in the rebellion.
  • In opposite direction, the putsch of 1942, in Algiers also, was accomplished certainly in agreement with the majority of the French of metropolis remained not collaborationnists, but also partly against the local opinion, in majority petainist if not collaborationnist. The blow did not succeed less about it thanks to the international context, as it hereafter will be exposed.

International context

The success of the coup d'etat also depends on the international context: the adjoining countries can be favorable or not to their company and react to it or not militarily.
  • This is why one of the first acts of the modern authors of coup d'etat is to affirm that all the international agreements will be respected.
  • Danslecasde the putsch of November 8th, 1942, started against the aspirations of the local medium succeeded only thanks to the international context, i.e. that of the Opération Torch, about to occur, that whose plotters had been informed for a few days. On the other hand the international context was resolutely ignored by the Vichyist leaders, like showed it the reactions of Darlan, which, désinformé by its own intelligence service of the marine, estimated impossible that the the United States of America lay out, before one year, of the vessels necessary to such an intervention. In the same way, with Reduction, the general Charles Noguès, when it was encircled by the general Emile Béthouart, in the night of November 8th, 1942, telephoned the admiral Frix Michelier to question it on the threat of a allied unloading: this last, known for its character enclosed and in addition famous for its sympathies to the Axis, certified to him that Béthouard was a liar and that no unloading was in hand, nor possible, because if that were, the intelligence service of the navy, which according to him would have been informed of least left a fishing vessel the port New York, would have learned to him. In the same way, in Algiers, colonel Jacquin, former military attach3e with Washington it had certified with the staff June that the forces of the United States were inapt to intervene for a long time out of the American continent.
  • the communist coup d'etat of Prague in 1947 could intervene only because the Czechoslovakia was located in the Soviet zone of influence, where the Western armies avoided intervening.

List few coups d'etat

Africa

America

Asia and Oceania

Europe

Sources and bibliography

  • Curzio Malaparte, Technical of the coup d'etat (1st French edition in 1931), Paris: ED. 10/18, 1964.
  • Donald J. Goodspeed, Six coups d'etat , Paris: ED. Arthaud, 1963.
  • Edward Luttwak, the Coup d'etat: Handbook practices , Paris: ED. Robert Laffont, 1969.

Simple: Putsch

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