Poll: How exactly does one go about in plotting a coup?

[devildog1170]

let's face it, we've all heard of people taking over their governments. But let's be honest, just how do they do it? Do they get in the royal chair of their country and say, look at me I'm the leader now?

Discuss

 

[Hazy]

They use brute force and scare tactics, See V for Vendetta.
And alot of guns and armed Goons doesen't hurt either.

EDIT: Your poll needs fixing.

 

[mdk31]

Depends on the country in question, and the type of coup you're looking for, though the two are related. The most common is the military coup d'etat, in which a general or other high officer of some military branch, usually army, will garner support among his subordinates and try to take over/wipe out the civilian government and install himself.

If you wanted to do that, you'd first have to get a high officer position, support from your men and officers, and balls the size of Texas.

 

[Gooble]

You only need 4 ingredients:

Money
Arms dealers
Thugs
A feeling of unrest throughout a sizeable portion of the populace

 

[goatzilla8463]

They grab a microphone and shout out, we are the government now.

If anyone shouts out: "No you're not!", they get shot.

Unless it is a democracy obviously.

 

[Kingsman]

See, the way a coupe detat works is the leadership is cut off, and another leader takes his place. While the former leader might have a larger army, they can't do anything if they can't figure out how to move or issue orders.

At this point, the person executing the coupe uses his smaller army to great advantage, because he can use his tactical skill to the full, while the headless masses of the former's army can only brawl pointlessly, assuming they just don't panic and run or surrender outright.

Needless to say, this can only work in truly totalitarian forms of government, with power centralized around on a group or one person. It would be fairly impossible to do agains a democratic society, where the power is (..fine, I'll say "supposedly") spread amongst many people and replacements can be found relatively quickly in the event one is killed.

 

[Hazy]

They grab a microphone and shout out, we are the government now.

If anyone shouts out: "No you're not!", they get shot.

Unless it is a democracy obviously.

Then they like.. Tax you with bogus charges and make your insurance bill sky rocket.

 

[Nickolai77]

You need the support of the military. Generalised terrorism does not do enough damage, and causes the main-stream population to turn against your cause. If you can persuade the army to back your cause, revolution is easy.

 

[ace_of_something]

I am not giving any advice on the grounds that I don't want to get arrested and have my testicles hooked up to a car battery for what you will do with said information.

The poll is pointless.

 

[Sneaklemming]

They use brute force and scare tactics, See V for Vendetta.
And alot of guns and armed Goons doesen't hurt either.

WRONG
See: Velvet Revolution [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velvet_Revolution]

 

[Hazy]

They use brute force and scare tactics, See V for Vendetta.
And alot of guns and armed Goons doesen't hurt either.

WRONG
See: Velvet Revolution [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velvet_Revolution]

Ok you have me there, but can you really blame me?
The term "Peaceful" Doesen't usually lend itself to, What essentially is, a Takeover.

 

[Labyrinth]

I'm going to scowl at that poll for a while and get back to you.

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Okay. Here's the deal.

The first thing you need is an issue that requires fixing. This can be the government's habit of flinging slander-pies at any critics or their attempt to prohibit alcohol. Or any other issue really but for a truly effective coup there must be near-universal appeal.

Next you'll need promotion. The people need to see how this issue affects them in the Worst Way Imaginable. Some of this may be out-right propaganda it's issue dependant, other bits might simply require pointing out obvious occurrences of government abuse. This comes alongside the requirement for subversive communication channels which you will need in order to tell people what's happening, how they can help, all the rest.

From your growing numbers of supporters, you should be able to draw a large militia backing for your upcoming coup. They'll need training, equipment, supplies and all the rest. Without a militia you have no way to hold a coup because unprepared civilians have the nasty habit of acting as cannonfodder for a vengeful government force. God only knows where they get the idea that they'll get away with that kind of thing.

Information and planning are your friend. Collect as much as you can. Only with this can you properly work out your plan of attack on the government.

The biggest problem coups face is what happens afterwards. Basic infrastructure should be maintained for the sake of having that to re-build your nation from. There's no point in flooring services like sewerage, power and the like if you're just going to have to work the logistics out again later. You can do that once you've been successful in the overthrow to improve said services.

Oh, and never EVER try to go back on what you were fighting for. Mass-media will get in your way.

 

[Sneaklemming]

They use brute force and scare tactics, See V for Vendetta.
And alot of guns and armed Goons doesen't hurt either.

WRONG
See: Velvet Revolution [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velvet_Revolution]

Ok you have me there, but can you really blame me?
The term "Peaceful" Doesen't usually lend itself to, What essentially is, a Takeover.

Ha, yeah I guess

 

[EMFCRACKSHOT]

You need the support of the military or a damn huge private army. It helps if the country is in a state of civil unrest as well. That way you can try and gain loyalty amongst the populace.
Otherwise you can just buy your way to power like the president of the USA

How to put down a coup=nuke or SAS.

Also, instead of coup, i prefer the spanish version=pronunciamento. Sounds much nicer