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Book SynopsisThe term coup d''état--French for stroke of the state--brings to mind coups staged by power-hungry generals who overthrow the existing regime, not to democratize, but to concentrate power in their own hands as dictators. We assume all coups look the same, smell the same, and present the same threats to democracy.It''s a powerful, concise, and self-reinforcing idea. It''s also wrong. In The Democratic Coup d''État, Ozan Varol advances a simple, yet controversial, argument: Sometimes, a democracy is established through a military coup. Covering events from the Athenian Navy''s stance in 411 B.C. against a tyrannical home government, to coups in the American colonies that ousted corrupt British governors, to twentieth-century coups that toppled dictators and established democracy in countries as diverse as Guinea-Bissau, Portugal, and Colombia, the book takes the reader on a gripping journey.Connecting the dots between these neglected events, Varol weaves a balanced narrative that challen
Trade ReviewA democratic tour d'force! In this timely, beautifully written, and forcefully argued book, Varol challenges conventional wisdom about the role of the military in democratization. Whether one agrees or not, this is an argument that we will have to wrestle with again and again. * Tom Ginsburg, University of Chicago Law School *
As recent years have shown, the preservation of liberal democracy can never be taken for granted. Varol challenges democratic theorists and citizens alike to ask what price we are willing to pay and what risks we should be willing to run to sustain liberal democracy. * Richard H. Pildes, New York University School of Law *
Varol draws on a wide range of examples to provide a nuanced account of how military interventions in politics can sometimes promote democracy-and why they often do not. * Mark Tushnet, Harvard Law School *
Table of ContentsPART I : FROM SOLDIERS TO POLITICIANS 1. Love Ballads, Carnations, and Coups 2. The Romance of Democratic Transitions 3. In the Land of the Blind 4. Hogan's Heroes 5. A Different Type of Stroke PART II : BRUTUS AND CASSIUS 6. Friends with Benefits 7. With Friends Like These 8. Musical Chairs 9. The Glorious Coup PART III: PRAETORIANS AND GUARDIANS 10. An Army of Civilians 11. Meritocracy and Nepotism 12. The Enemy Within 13. Foreign Affairs PART IV: AN ALLIANCE OF CONVENIENCE 14. Competition and Power 15. Freedom and Order PART V: MEET THE NEW BOSS, SAME AS THE OLD BOSS 16. A New Order 17. Golden Parachutes 18. Between Scylla and Charybdis PART VI: SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO? 19. The Retreat 20. The Broken Promise PART VII: HOW THIS ENDS 21. The Awakening 22. Hollow Hope 23. Horror Vacui 24. Synergy 25. Cincinnatus Acknowledgments
