Military Junta: Power Struggles, The Inner Workings of Authoritarian Rule

By Fouad Sabry

What is Military Junta

A military junta is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term junta means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the national and local junta organized by the Spanish resistance to Napoleon's invasion of Spain in 1808. The term is now used to refer to an authoritarian form of government characterized by oligarchic military dictatorship, as distinguished from other categories of authoritarian rule, specifically strongman ; machine ; and bossism.

How you will benefit

(I) Insights, and validations about the following topics:

Chapter 1: Military junta

Chapter 2: Dictatorship

Chapter 3: Politics of Sudan

Chapter 4: Military dictatorship

Chapter 5: Provisional government

Chapter 6: Processo Revolucionário em Curso

Chapter 7: List of coups and coup attempts

Chapter 8: Coup d'état

Chapter 9: Junta (governing body)

Chapter 10: Sudanese transition to democracy

(II) Answering the public top questions about military junta.

Who this book is for

Professionals, undergraduate and graduate students, enthusiasts, hobbyists, and those who want to go beyond basic knowledge or information for any kind of Military Junta.

• Language: English
• Publisher: One Billion Knowledgeable
• Release date: Jun 18, 2024

Book preview

Chapter 1: Military junta

A military junta (/ˈhʊntə, ˈdʒʌntə/) is a government led by a committee of military leaders.

As a result of the national and local juntas that were created by the Spanish resistance in response to Napoleon's invasion of Spain in 1808, the term junta which means meeting or committee was first seen.

A junta often comes to power as a result of a coup d'état.

Indicates a military junta that is currently in power.

Burkina Faso – Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration (2022–present)

Chad – Transitional Military Council (2021–2022), Administration in Transition (from 2022 until the present)

Egypt – Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (2011–2012)

Ethiopia – Derg (1974–1987)

Guinea – National Committee of Reconciliation and Development (2021–present)

Liberia – People's Redemption Council (1980–1984)

Libya – Revolutionary Command Council (1969–1977)

Mali – National Committee for the Salvation of the People (2020–2021), Nigeria – Military juntas (1966–1979 and 1983–1998)

Sudan – Transitional Military Council (2019), From 2021 until the present, the Transitional Sovereignty Council

Argentina – Argentine Revolution (1966–1973), 1976–1983: The Years of the National Reorganization Process

Bolivia – Bolivian military juntas (1970–1971 and 1980–1982)

Brazil – Brazilian military juntas of 1930 and 1969

Chile – Government Junta (1973–1990)

Colombia – Military Junta (1957-1958)

El Salvador – Civic Directory (1931), During the years 1960–1961, the Junta of Government, Between 1961 and 1962, the Civic-Military Directory, 1979–1982: The Years of the Revolutionary Government Junta

Guatemala – Junta of the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état

Haiti – Junta that took control in the 1991 coup and was deposed in 1994 (1991–1994)

Nicaragua – Junta of National Reconstruction (1979–1985)

Peru – Military junta (1962-1963) Military junta (1968–1980)

Uruguay – Military junta (1973-1985)

Venezuela - Military junta (1948-1958)

Bangladesh – Military governments of Ziaur Rahman (1975–1981) and H.M.

Ershad, who lived from 1982 till 1990

Indonesia – Military government of Suharto, also called New Order that lasted for 32 years (1966–1998).

Myanmar – State Peace and Development Council (1988–2011), Throughout the years 1988 and 1997, it was known as the State Law and Order Restoration Council, and since 2021, it has been known as the State Administration Council.

Pakistan – Military governments of Ayub Khan (1958–1969), The years 1969–1971, Yahya Khan, From 1977 till 1988, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, From 1999 until 2008, Pervez Musharraf

South Korea – Supreme Council for National Reconstruction (1961–1963)

Republic of China – Temporary Provisions against the Communist Rebellion (1948–1991) used by Kuomintang after the fall of Mainland China to the Communists

Thailand –National Peace Keeping Council (1991-1992) Council for National Security (2006-2008) and National Council for Peace and Order (2014–2019)

Turkey – National Unity Committee (1960–1961) and Council for National Security (1980–1983)

Bulgaria - 1934 Bulgarian coup d'état (1934–1935)

Georgia – Military Council of the Republic of Georgia – Governed the country from 6 January to 10 March 1992.

The state council, which was led by Eduard Shevardnadze, assumed its place.

Greece – Regime of the Colonels, The Revolutionary Committee was formally in charge from 1967 to 1974.

Poland – Military Council of National Salvation (1981–1983)

Portugal – National Salvation Junta (1974–1975)

Fiji – Military government of Frank Bainimarama (2006–2014)

{End Chapter 1}

Chapter 2: Dictatorship

In a dictatorship, one person or a small number of people have almost unchecked authority over the whole country. The dictator directs the government and is assisted by a small group of trusted advisors, generals, and other high-ranking officials under a dictatorship. The dictator maintains power by manipulating and placating the inner circle and crushing any opposition, whether it competing political parties, armed resistance, or disloyal members of the inner circle. Dictatorships may be established in two ways: either by a military coup that forcibly removes the previous administration, or by a self-coup by elected officials who seize absolute power. Military dictatorships, one-party dictatorships, personalist dictatorships, and absolute monarchy are all types of dictatorships.

The Roman Republic was the first to use the word dictatorship to describe a temporary transfer of ultimate authority to a leader to address some emergency. Post-classicism saw the rise of the first military dictatorships, most notably in Japan under the Shogunate and England during the reign of Oliver Cromwell. In the nineteenth century, modern dictatorships like Bonapartism in Europe and caudillos in Latin America emerged. Europe was home to both fascist and communist dictatorships in the 20th century; fascism was defeated in 1945, while communism remained powerful throughout the globe until the conclusion of the Cold War in 1991. Also prominent in the latter half of the twentieth century were the personalist dictatorships of Africa and the military dictatorships of Latin America.

Despite the fact that numerous dictatorships have persisted into the 21st century, especially in Africa and Asia, the decade after the Soviet Union's fall saw a sporadic increase in democracies across the globe. There are now 98 more democracies than authoritarian regimes, which fell dramatically over the 20th and early 21st centuries. After the global financial crisis of 2008, the Western model lost much of its attractiveness throughout the globe, and the ensuing democratic slump defined the second decade of the 2010s. In 2019, there were 92 authoritarian governments compared to 87 democratic ones.

Dictatorships try to put on a democratic front by conducting elections to prove their legitimacy or reward party members, but the opposition has little chance of winning in these situations. Coercion and political repression, including the suppression of free speech, the monitoring of political opponents, and the use of force, are necessary for a dictatorship to preserve stability. Coups and revolutions may bring down dictatorships that don't effectively suppress their opponents.

Dictatorships have a wide range of power arrangements, Various aspects of this framework are taken into account by various definitions of dictatorship.

Political scientists such as Juan José Linz and Samuel P.

Huntington defines the characteristics of a dictatorship's power system, that has a leader or leaders (either one or a few), the use of authority with little restraint, a lack of political diversity, With a lack of widespread participation.

When one group seizes power over another, a dictatorship is founded; the makeup of this group determines the means by which power is taken and the nature of the dictatorship that emerges. The group's nature, whether it be military or political, its level of organization, or the number of members from a certain demography are all factors to consider.

In 1999, political scientist Barbara Geddes pioneered a categorization of dictatorships based on the distribution of power. There are three distinct forms of dictatorship under this system. Dictatorships may be classified as either military (headed by military commanders), one-party (led by political party leaders), or personalist (led by a single individual). If the monarchs of a monarchy have absolute authority, the government may be classified as a dictatorship. Dictatorships that have characteristics of more than one of these types are called hybrids..

A military dictatorship is a government in which members of the armed forces dominate executive and legislative positions and shape national policy.

In a one-party dictatorship, the ruling party has absolute power. Only the ruling party is tolerated under a single-party dictatorship, while all others are outlawed. One-party dictatorships are known as dominant-party dictatorships or electoral authoritarian dictatorships when opposition parties are technically allowed but have no real say in policymaking. During the Cold War, one-party rule was the norm, however following the collapse of the Soviet Union, dominant-party rule became the norm.

In a personalist dictatorship, the ultimate authority rests in one person. They are distinct from other types of dictatorships in that the dictator has more discretionary power over important political positions and the government's finances. Personalist dictators often have military or political party backgrounds, but the dictator retains ultimate control at all times. The elite corps under personalist dictatorships normally consists of the dictator's closest associates, whether they be friends or relatives.

In a monarchy where the king has absolute power, there are no checks and balances on the monarch's authority. Differentiating it from constitutional monarchy and ritualistic monarchies.

The term tyranny has historical ties to the notion of dictatorship; some ancient Greek kings have been labeled tyrants in ways that are strikingly reminiscent of contemporary autocrats.

Several European dictatorships were installed between World Wars I and II by far-left and far-right parties staging coups.

Military coups continued to install new dictators in Latin America far into the 20th century, frequently in the guise of nationalism.

As a result of decolonization, numerous African countries established new administrations in the 1960s and 1970s, many of which subsequently became dictatorships. Personalist socialist dictatorships, in which a single socialist rather than a governing party came to power, were common in early Africa. During the course of the Cold War, the Soviet Union expanded its sphere of influence into Africa, leading to the rise of Marxist-Leninist dictatorships in a number of African nations.

The People's Republic of China, led by Mao Zedong, and the Republic of China, led by Chiang Kai-shek, were established after the Chinese Civil War concluded in 1949. Mao's Maoism is the ruling philosophy of the People's Republic of China, which he built as a one-party communist state. The People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union were formerly allies, but ties weakened during the de-Stalinization process in the latter half of the 1950s. The Cultural Revolution of the 1960s, during which Mao destroyed all traces of capitalism and traditionalism in China, solidified his grip on power in the People's Republic of China.

During WWII, the Soviet Union conquered a large portion of Central and Eastern Europe. Following the war's conclusion, the Soviet Union annexed these nations into its sphere of influence and imposed its will on their respective governments.

Even though the incidence of coups in Latin America decreased beginning in the 1980s, military dictatorships were still a common phenomenon across the region throughout the Cold War. Twelve nations in Latin America saw a military coup between 1967 and 1991, including three coups each in Haiti and Honduras and eight in Bolivia.

At the turn of the new millennium, authoritarianism took on a new form in many parts of the globe. Most dictators stopped becoming larger-than-life personalities who terrorized their populations and cut themselves off from the rest of the world between the 1990s and the 2000s. Instead, there has been a shift toward improving public perception in order to retain popular support and towards toning down rhetoric in order to better engage with the international community.

Measuring and categorizing regimes as democracies or dictatorships (authoritarian nations) is a common job in political science. Three of the most popular data sets utilized by political scientists are Freedom House, the Polity data series, and the Democracy-Dictatorship Index.

The majority of dictatorships may be found in very poor nations. Governments become more unstable when people are poor, which increases the frequency with which democracies collapse and dictatorships fall.

A dictatorship's capacity to withstand the rise of resistance organizations depends on a number of elements, including the