The coup remains hte single most common form of power change throughout the world. The government being targeted by a coup attempt could be democratically elected, a long-standing dictatorship, or nothing more than a junta put in place by the previous month's coup. The motivation will always be lust for power, patriotism, greed or exploitation. It is usually a combination of power, greed and explotation disguised as patriotism. This book explores these violent and often bloody appropriations of authority, alongside the political, military and social condistions out of which they arise. Taking into account factors such as timing, media control, popular support, and government organisational structure, and by drawing on examples of coups from all over the world, both failed and successful, the authors reveal exactly what it takes to carry out a successful government takeover.

List of illustrations -- Introduction -- 1. The Military in Politics -- Get your tanks off my lawn -- Breathrough coups: China 1911, Egypt 1952, Cuba 1959 -- Guardian Coups: Turkey 1960, 1971, and 1980 -- Veto Coups: Argentina 1943, 1955, and 1976 -- Operation Valkyrie: The July Putsch, Germany 1944 -- Kenn Connor: Thoughts on Prussian Thinking -- The Bloodless Coup and the Less-Blood Coup -- The accidental coup: Sierra Leone 1992 and 1996 -- The Faux Coup d-Etat -- Military intervention -- 2. Motivation and Massage -- Reasons to be cherrful: Nigeria 1990 -- The Cuba Card: Venezuela 2002 -- Ken Connor: Mutiny! -- Going native: Ecuador 1963 and 2000 -- The al-QQaeda Franchise and the War on Terror -- Getting the Message Across: Media Ops -- 3. Planning the Perfect Putsch -- Secrets of success -- Positive Prognosis: Iran 1953 -- Risible Results: Algeria 1961 -- Pro-Formas for Perfect Planning -- 4. Recruitment, Training and Tactics -- Recruiting to the cause -- Training coup teams -- Ken Connor: Reading and Writing -- Philosophical stuff -- Ken Connor: Harvey Point -- Fighting in built-up areas -- Vehicle checkpoints -- Arresting the bad guys -- Prime-time interrogation -- Ken Connor: Torture -- Tailoring you tactics -- 5. Keeping your coup covert -- Watching the watchers: counter-surveillance -- A message for our listeners: telephone security -- Gentlemen don't read each others' email -- 6. A Word from our Sponsor -- Invasion or Intervention? -- 'Made to Scream': Chile 1973 -- 'Caravan of Death' 2: Operation Condor -- The Kampala Strangler: Uganda 1971 -- 7. Strategically situated exotic Islands -- Temperature rising -- The teenage coup: Comoros 1978 -- Fiji 1987: Take 1 and Take 2 -- Three coups and you are out: Fiji 2000 -- Ken Connor: The incredible horse -- Finis Coronat Opus: The Seychelles 1977-1987 -- 8. The Coup that never was -- The Middle East before it became a way of not saying 'Palestine' -- Ken Connor: Self-sufficiency and the art of dental hygiene -- Rotting Rupees: Abu Dhabi 19969 -- Ken Connor: Making house calls -- Enough Sa'id: Oman 1970 -- The CIA Train: Iraq 1958, 1959, 1963 and 1968 -- The coup that never was: Iraq 2003 -- 9. OUtsourcing Your Coup -- Guinea Foul -- From muntiny to scrutiny -- Hiatus in Harare -- 'Obiang will eat my testicles' -- Ken Connor: The Mercenary Fink -- Private military cock-ups (PMCs) -- Ken Connor: Not seeing the woood for the trees -- 10. Where Next? Who Next? -- Spreading 'Liberty and Democracy' -- Putsch Prognosis -- Appendix A: Military Coups d-Etat by Country -- Appendix B: Military Coups d-Etat by Date -- Notes -- Index.