Editing Coup d'état

A '''coup d'état''', also called a '''coup''', is the act of overthrowing a [[government]], but not necessarily the [[state]]. As such, a coup does not always lead to the overthrow of the [[Ruling class|dominating class]]. Coups have been used and have been instrumental in [[Proletarian revolution|socialist revolutions]], [[Counterrevolution|counter-revolutions]] and [[Bourgeois revolution|bourgeois revolutions]] alike.

== Etymology ==
The name comes from the French, and literally means a "blow of the state", and should be understood to mean a "knockout blow [to the government]".

== Types ==

=== Generals' coups ===
The most [[reactionary]] type of coups, which reverse the achievements of a [[national liberation]] struggle or an electoral victory against the ruling class, are usually led by generals and the top leadership of the military. The [[United States of America|United States]] and domestic elites often back such coups, which benefit the international [[Imperialism|imperialist]] [[bourgeoisie]].<ref name=":12222">{{Citation|author=[[Vijay Prashad]]|year=2008|title=The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World|chapter=La Paz|page=146–8|pdf=https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/bafykbzaceascnzh26r5d6uitjjs2z7rflhaxlt7rboz5whzdf76qg6xxvecqq?filename=%28A%20New%20Press%20People%27s%20history%29%20Vijay%20Prashad%20-%20The%20darker%20nations_%20a%20people%27s%20history%20of%20the%20third%20world-The%20New%20Press%20%282008%29.pdf|publisher=The New Press|isbn=9781595583420|lg=https://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=9B40B96E830128A7FE0E0E887C06829F}}</ref>

Examples:

* [[People's Democratic Republic of Algeria|Algeria]] (1965)
* [[Republic of Indonesia|Indonesia]] (1965)
* [[First Republic of Ghana (1960–1966)|Ghana]] (1966)
* [[Republic of Uganda|Uganda]] (1971)
* [[Republic of Chile|Chile]] (1973)
* [[Republic of Chad|Chad]] (1975)

=== Colonels' coups ===
In countries that lack national liberation movements and have no hope for social reform, lower military officers such as colonels may lead progressive coups.<ref name=":12222" />

Examples:

* [[Arab Republic of Egypt|Egypt]] (1952)
* [[Republic of Iraq|Iraq]] (1958)
* [[Republic of the Sudan|Sudan]] (1969)
* [[Libyan Arab Republic (1969–1977)|Libya]] (1969)
* [[Burkina Faso]] (1983)

== References ==
[[Category:Political terminology]]