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Curzon
Author

Curzon

Date

March 12th, 2008

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13 Comments so far.
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What do these countries all have in common?

nations.gif

Answer: The incumbent heads of the ruling regime assumed power via a coup d’état.

Comments to this entry

Lexington Green
March 12, 2008
4:17 pm
I would rather be working third shift at a pancake house in the good old USA than be dictator of any of those places.
Michael Hancock
March 12, 2008
7:11 pm
Assuming you eat other places than your own establishment, Lexington, your life expectancy is definitely greater.
Alfred Russel Wallace
March 12, 2008
11:10 pm
I had forgotten that Hamad bin Khalifa, the Emir of Qatar, had deposed his father - at least it was bloodless.... (so they say!)
Rommel
March 13, 2008
2:03 am
I wouldn't mind being the Bey of Tunis or Tripoli..
Michael
March 13, 2008
2:24 am
Double check the map, you highlighted Bahrain instead of Qatar. Slight quibble.
Curzon
March 13, 2008
4:06 am
Yeah Lex, haven't you read or seen "The Man Who Would Be King"?

No comments from any Core-Gapologists as of yet.
Curzon
March 13, 2008
8:51 am
Ouch, thanks there Michael.
Lexington Green
March 13, 2008
3:54 pm
Have indeed read and seen The Man Who Would be King.

That story is as good as it gets.
adam w
March 13, 2008
8:13 pm
If you're going to have Pakistan on the list, you should add Chad and Sudan, who's leaders also came to power via a coup but have since held rigged elections
Jayson
March 13, 2008
10:14 pm
"I would rather be working third shift at a pancake house in the good old USA than be dictator of any of those places."

Well, these folks apparently prefer to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.

BTW, anyone here ever read Luttwak's "Coup d'etat: A Practical Handbook"? Supposed to be a "classic," but was written a lifetime ago, so I wonder if there's anything about the book's analysis that could (or should) be considered "dated" by now.

Another question: when and where was the last known successful coup to have taken place in a "Western" nation?
Jayson
March 13, 2008
10:17 pm
Hmm--Fiji's an interesting case:

http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9867423

"...Without peacekeeping missions overseas, it is unlikely that Fiji's army would ever have become strong enough to seize power.[...]"
Elizabeth
March 15, 2008
11:51 am
Interesting that you don't note the Central Asia "republics" either- many of their leaders have been in power since coup d'etats after Soviet times.
tehag
March 20, 2008
3:22 am
I have read Luttwak’s book. I haven't read it since the early 1980s, but, IIRC, even then I thought it described the palace coup- or putsch-style of replacing a government that was not universal. Luttwak’s book was probably the inspiration for the game, Junta, too. Good game.