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coups

August 12, 2022

♟️ Before categorising autocracies, we need to count them accurately

Edward Goldring Hager Ali launched this series by pointing out that 'we lack the terminology to do anything beyond counting non-democracies'. Yet Edward Goldring argues that we sometimes struggle to accurately do that. This raises troubling questions for analyses of non-democracies – and emphasises the importance of studying history Read more

May 11, 2022

♟️ Why we must understand civilian participation in military rule

Salah Ben Hammou Researchers of authoritarian politics and civil-military relations have long examined military rule. However, our understanding of civilian participation in military regimes remains limited and requires greater analytical attention, argues Salah Ben Hammou. Amid last year’s coup resurgence, researchers must move to appreciate the subtle but salient differences among military dictatorships Read more

November 29, 2021

Sudan’s army is at a stalemate, and the costs are mounting

Hager Ali A military coup on 25 October put an abrupt end to Sudan’s fragile democratic transition. Hager Ali argues that although the coup pre-empted a foreseeable power-transfer, the military also created a much bigger problem for itself. The same socio-political conditions that kept al-Bashir in power for decades now threaten the military’s capacity to govern Read more

October 22, 2021

International regional orders are changing our state-centred world

Mădălin-Cătălin Blidaru The regional dimension of international relations is more significant today than ever before, argues Mădălin-Cătălin Blidaru. In the current crisis, regional cooperation and institutionalised regional organisations are delivering important solutions. The network of external relations being developed by regional organisations takes us beyond a state-centred world Read more

August 10, 2021

Holding elections in Libya is not a solution to the country’s deep-seated problems

Hager Ali Only a few months remain before elections in Libya. But Western policymakers are focusing on election preparations and the withdrawal of foreign mercenaries, to the neglect of other pressing matters. Hager Ali argues that unless Libya tackles its political and military problems, elections may prove little more than a sticking plaster on a bullet wound Read more

June 10, 2021

Dictators beware! Creating nominally democratic institutions won’t prevent your overthrow

Jun Koga Sudduth Does the creation of nominally democratic institutions help dictators stay in power by reducing the risk of coups d’etat? Jun Koga Sudduth analyses and categorises different types of coup, and their effects. In so doing, she confounds the conventional wisdom that democratic institutions reduce the likelihood of dictators being overthrown Read more

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