The Anti-Coup

Supporters of political democracy, human rights, and social justice have good reasons to be alarmed about coups d'état. These abrupt seizures of the state apparatus have occurred with great frequency in recent decades. Coups have overthrown established constitutional democratic systems of government, halted movements toward greater democracy, and have imposed brutal and oppressive regimes. Coups d'état are one of the main ways in which new dictatorships are established. Coups may also precipitate civil wars and international crises. Coups remain a major unsolved defense problem. This book describes an anti-coup policy focused on defense of the society by the society itself, using non-violent methods. The two basic principles of anti-coup defense promoted in this book are to: 1) deny legitimacy to the putschists, and 2) to resist the putschists with noncooperation and defiance.

By : Gene Sharp and Bruce Jenkins

01 - The Anti Coup 02 - How Coups Operate 03 - When Are Coups Likely To Occur? 04 - Support For Coups 05 - Attempts To Prevent Coups 06 - Coups Have Been Defeated 07 - Anti-coup Defense 08 - The Putschists Require... 09 - Direct Defense Of The Society 10 - The Need For Preparations 11 - The Civilian Defenders' Aims 12 - Resistance: General And Organized 13 - The Importance Of Strategy 14 - Anti-coup Weapons 15 - Guidelines For General Resistance 16 - Treatment Of The Usurper's Troops And Functionaries 17 - Facing Attack: Obstruction And Communication 18 - Facing Attack: Repudiation And Rejection 19 - Blocking Control By The Putschists 20 - Defying Repression And Intimidation 21 - The Importance Of Nonviolent Discipline 22 - International Support 23 - Shifts In Strategy During The Struggle 24 - A Durable Success 25 - In The Case Of Need For Long-term Defense 26 - Collapsing The Coup 27 - Deterring Coups D'etat 28 - Promoting An Anti-coup Defense 29 - Adopting An Anti-coup Defense 30 - Preparations By The Civil Institutions 31 - Government Initiated Preparations 32 - Possible Legislation And Other Plans To Mobile Defense 33 - Other Types Of Preparations 34 - Consequences Of An Anti-coup Defense 35 - Appendix One 36 - Appendix Two 37 - Albert Einstein Institution Mission Statement / About The Authors