Entry
Entries A-Z
Coup d'Etat
The illegal overthrow and replacement of a nation's leadership by an insurgent group, usually working from within the government. A coup differs from a revolution because it is not carried out by the “people,” instead it is instigated by government insiders who have access and hence the ability to seize control of the police and military powers. The first notable coup d'etat was Napoleon's overthrow of the French Directory in 1799. Modern coups d'etat are limited to unstable global government regimes, never having occurred in either Great Britain or the United States The term is French for strike against the state (coup [blow or strike], état [state]).
Get a 30 day FREE TRIAL
-
Watch videos from a variety of sources bringing classroom topics to life -
Read modern, diverse business cases
-
Explore hundreds of books and reference titles
Read next
More like this
Sage Recommends
We found other relevant content for you on other Sage platforms.
Have you created a personal profile? Login or create a profile so that you can save clips, playlists and searches