military self-interest as a factor resulting in a Military coup

military self-interest as a factor resulting in a Military coup

For a long time, people perceived that military coups no longer exists. However, in recent years in 2013 and 2014, Egypt and Thailand reminded us that the military could take part in political issues. The military is supposed to protect the state; it is difficult to understand that the same army can go against the government. For coups to happen, the military must meet specific qualifications, including; the Armed forces must have the capacity. The interests must also be genuine, the military must have some degree of popularity, and there should be no legitimate opponents. If the factors are absent, a coup may fail to happen, like the case of Turkey. This paper takes a keen look at military self-interest as a factor resulting in a Military coup. The work also compares the military coups in Nigeria and Brazil; and the utility theories explaining why they occur.

To stage successful coups, self-interest armies only require one thing; the support of the public. The troops just need to convince a certain number of people to come together and work to match to achieve a common course. The military can mobilize a certain amount of people and convince them to participate in a common course without having to explain their reasons. The ability to call people together for a common course enables the modern military not only to take over governments easily but also be in a position to take political power effectively. The armies possess all the destructive skills; people view them as powerful hence, when they call for an action citizen may be more willing to take part.

The officer corps control the military; they give orders to the frontline unit and dictates them on how to undertake the military operations. Coups are triggered by officers’ corps other than soldiers on the ground. Effective coups do not usually involve all the soldier units; instead, some soldiers at fundamental structures are singled out to undertake the activities.  It is estimated that even 2% of soldiers can successfully stage a coup and change the governing status. Soldiers are used to controlling critical structures to put the government in a situation that it has no options but to step down. The soldiers often act at night when the government least expects. The critical targets are areas such as; governmental offices and administrative centers. Military coups are mainly staged at the capital centers because they house the administrative centers. During coups, the military controls traffic flow by blocking major roads to avoid the possible escape of the governmental officials. The military also controls major airlines and radio and TV stations to monitor information flow.

Soldiers may opt to stage a coup because of several interests, including; financial, political, strategic, and tactical factors. Financially armies stage a coup because they are lowly paid. If the military is allocated low budgets, they are likely to strike because the capital might be inadequate to cover for all the budgets. Developed usually allocate the high military budgets to avoid risking coups that may have devastating effects. Political issues may force the army to stage the coup, especially if they feel that the government does not promote the interests of Officer Corps.  The military might also have different views on the government’s strategic plans and tactical factors. In this case, the soldiers upraise to make sure that strategies advocate for public interests. The military may also stage coups to advocate for their promotion rights and military dismissals of fellow soldiers. Soldiers upraise if they feel that the government is not doing enough to safeguard their rights or enhance their wellbeing.

The first Nigerian Coup happened in 1966, planned by Major Nzeogwu. The coup in Nigeria was staged because of election rigging that occurred in 1965. The rigging caused political unrest and riots resulting in massive killings. The military had to take over to restore the normal state to prevent massive killings. The Nigerian army ruled for 33 years; democracy was reinstated in 1999. The Igbo officers majorly staged the 1966 coup. The military coup in Nigeria resulted in some of the challenges experienced in the country, including; The Biafran civil war, high levels of corruption, and fear of future crises. The army took over the government without proper measures on how to rule. This made it difficult for the military to exercise successful political control in Nigeria.

The Brazilian coup took place in  1964; the army was raising against the government because they felt that the government was not doing enough to fund them to facilitate their wellbeing. Brazil was facing a financial crisis and the president by then; Goulart was not doing enough to address the situation; student elites convinced General Amaury Kruel to stage a coup against the government to restore the country’s economic situation. The military held power from 1964 to 1985, just like Nigeria, they were inexperienced in the field, and this caused a lot of problems in terms of controlling the economy and maintaining the state order. Both military groups, the Nigerian and Brazilian states, ruled for an extended period. The two groups did have adequate experience in political matters; they faced a hard time trying to maintain order. The military groups had some self-interests such has low budget allocations.

In a nutshell, even though Military coups do not happen frequently, when they occur, they cause massive political unrest and change the political climate. Armies may upraise against the government because of several reasons, including; low remunerations, different political ideologies, tactical, and strategic factors. For coups to become successful, the military must; gain popular support, the armies must have the right capacity, and the reason must be genuine. Nigerian Military coups and Brazilian shared some similarities in that they lasted for long, and they both resulted in massive destruction properties and lives. The soldiers were inexperienced in ruling leading to economic disruptions and a series of unrests. Military coups may seem nonexistent, but they can still happen, and when they do, the consequences are fatal.

References

Holmes, A. A. (2019). Revolutions and Coups. Coups and Revolutions, 12–45. doi: 10.1093/oso/9780190071455.003.0002

Spektor, M. (2018). The United States and the 1964 Brazilian Military Coup. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Latin American History. doi: 10.1093/acrefore/9780199366439.013.551

Arbatli, C. E. (2017). The International Determinants of Military Coup Behavior. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics. doi: 10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.338