I read the first edition of this classic when I was in the Air Force 50 years ago. It was a dry, practical planning guide for a military takeover, with no political commentary or fluff. This revised edition has added much of both. I suspect that it has something to do with the author's subsequent checkered career in US intelligence, as lots of it reads more like sour grapes than gripping analysis. Parts of the original remain here, of course, but the additions and revisions make it more of a muddled mess than a coherent tome. The first edition would've gotten 5 stars - this one's lucky at half that, and mostly for the fond recollection of the prose of the first edition. Give it a pass, unless you just want to see the title on your shelf. ( )

12/4/22

This was a great book for understanding how coup d'etats work, and what goes wrong when they fail. ( )

The preface of this enjoyable little volume states:

“This is a handbook. It is therefore not concerned with a theoretical analysis of the coup d’état, but rather a formulation of the techniques which can be employed to seize power within a state. It can be compared to a cookery book in the sense that it aims at enabling any layman equipped with enthusiasm – and the right ingredients – to carry out his own coup.”

It is spot-on, just like the rest of this book. Coup d’État describes the conditions, strategy, planning, and execution of overthrowing a government, a once popular pastime in southern Europe, Latin America, and Africa. As the book concentrates on the mechanics, it makes it very clear that no specific ideology is required to execute the process. A state of underdevelopment makes things much easier, as was the lack of a nexus between the native cultures and methods and ideologies the newly independent states inherited from former colonial powers. The apparatus of the state in such countries was stronger than ever under the colonial government. A lack of a dispersed political culture as existed in modern Western countries and a lack of commitment of an often hardly literate population made things easier.

Bureaucracies and particularly the military use of standardised procedures, make a coup feasible with relatively few people if well planned, and proper use is made of speed, opportunism, and control of information flows. The examples in the book are somewhat dated, as is hopefully the concept of coups itself, now that standards of education and communication are rising nearly everywhere.

Still, I would not say I could execute my own coup after reading this book. In the industry where I work, we would hire a consultant for support. ( )

Dangerous book ( )