Hey! We’re back after (probably?) the longest hiatus in the channel’s history. Good news: it was only a publishing delay for scheduling reasons so we’ll be releasing the videos we’ve been working on in rapid succession in the next few weeks. Enjoy and remember to check out Storyblocks if you make videos or do any sort of creative work: www.storyblocks.com/polymatter
The US did it best: getting the Military Industrial Complex/corporations/oligarchs together to silence and assassinate JFK, and essentially controlling all arms of the government and media (through oligarchs who own them with no democratic oversight). Elections have since been manipulated through the media to give the illusion of choice. That is the real reason why the US can't figure out exactly the details of why JFK was assassinated, and yet have the ability to figure out it was OBL who brought down the twin towers half a globe away
There are also self-coups, when the leader of the nation having come to power legally, illegally increases his power. The penultimate coup here in Sweden took place in 1772, when King Gustav III dissolved Parliament and became dictator for 20 years until he was assassinated. When the mandate of French President Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte ended in 1851, he declared himself Emperor and ruled for 19 years until he tried to follow in the footsteps of his famous uncle and attacked Germany, but was captured.
The ultimate example is Adolf Hitler. He was legally appointed Chancellor by President Paul von Hindenburg, and used a false flag arson attack on the Reichstag to get legislation passed that helped him become an absolute dictator.
A big element you're missing here, especially in the coup belt. Is the frequency of these types of events. Not coups necessarily but power outages, telecommunications failures, government infighting, armed presences etc. All manner of disorienting information losses are not simply an occurrence but a normalized facet of life. A coup under these conditions is substantially easier to pull off. In stable countries we rarely see these kinds of events, in some developing countries they often even have defined schedules.
This is so true. As a burmese still trapped under the Myanmar military regime, there's an unreasonable amount of power outages and lots of ethnic guerilla forces fighting with the military which has increased since the coup.
@@Addictedtoyoutube9 Because the people of Turkey are citizens of the Turkish Republic and believe in its’ institutions. Also the military is absolutely hated in the country for pass coups, crackdowns, and wars with non-Turks of the country.
In the case of Myanmar, a majority of the government was always controlled by the military, even during the democratic government. (The military still held important positions, making it a you do what i say or your not doing it deal still.) Then they just decided to take control of the power they already had.
Indonesia used to do this back when Soeharto is still president. We had a thing called military dualfunction (translated), where military member would be appointed to a civilian position. Luckily we got rid of those when soeharto stepped down, but sadly there has been news that one of our minister (who also ex-military) wants to reinstitute it again 😮💨
@@Saksitsaelow I really hope we don't see this cycle again in Thailand these days. Actually, Myanmar people took three-finger salute from our Thai brothers who did about a decade ago.
True, we are currently resisting military coup in Myanmar taking up arms. One have to note that covid really messed things up and some citizens were afraid of going out and protest during the early days and a week later everyone was like we would rather die than not tell the world we are accepting this coup.
I wish you the best in your fight for democracy. It isn’t much, but despite our media having been “distracted” by other topics, there are still people aware of what is going on in your country and hoping for you to achieve your noble goals. Best of luck to you and your friends.
@@fluffybunny5518 Myanmar democratic NLD govt is same as Myanmar Army Both are bàd for ethnic mìńórìtìèś Look at 14:05 again they say partly free elections
Myanmar's Coup was flawless, everything was over by morning. Not a single shot, and no bloodshed. But they didn't anticipate the power of Facebook & Media. A week later protests started, 3 weeks later protests became violent and the soldiers started shooting.
Now the dictator regime is struggling to maintain power and it become so desperate to the point they have to burn down and bomb villages,carry out airstrike on most battles
At @12:48 it says 242 were successful and 244 were failures. But then it shows that 50.2% were successful and 49.8% were failures. Either the percentages or the number of coups should be the opposite. Other than this, great video as always!
South Asia is a really interesting case in this regard since most of the countries got their independence around the same time but the history shows a stark contrast. Coups by country are, Bangladesh: 8 Pakistan: 6 Sri Lanka: 4 Myanmar: 6 Nepal: 2 India despite being the largest, one of the poorest(at the time) and most diverse had zero thanks to the quick reforms to the military. Generals were taken out of decision making of the general council, the head of the army was made powerless by himself as he didn't have direct command of any troops but rather lieutenant Generals who then commanded troops. Also, multiple intelligence agencies that recruited from civil government controlled paramilitary were set up instead of having militaristic spy agencies.
One more reason to celebrate Field Marshal Manekshaw. Also, the various Iranian people groups (Parsis, Yazdis, Iranis) which have over time migrated here are the best argument for keeping an open mind and a somewhat open gate for immigration.
Thanks, polymatter! Now, having watched this video, I'm ready to start my own coup! When i finally become dictator, i will donate a golden mine to you!
What is crucial for Coups is a lack of trust. When you can't trust your fellow soldier or your officers to do the right thing, self-preservation takes priority. And in these political climates, self-preservation tells the soldier - don't do anything. Watch and see who is the "winner" and back them. You might want to do the right thing but you have no faith that enough people will agree, so you could be committing a form of suicide by opposing a coup. If no one knows who is on board, and no one knows where loyalties lie, then no one will act. This is why it is critical to keep people, soldier and civilians, engaged in politics and aware of what processes should occur and when. It is also why precedent and political norms are so vital to democracy - a lot of democracy is built on norms and the people accepting new leaders if they conform to those norms. Democracy is only possible when people care enough about it and are informed enough about checks and balances. Democracy is, sadly, always a few generations away from failing, no matter how strong it seems today. Continuous education and civil participation is extremely important. Be aware - be VERY aware - of those who seek to undermine participation, restrict or discourage voting, or encourage apathy.
Ghana had it's last coup d'etat in 1981... 31 years ago!!! Since 1992 there has been 8 successful democratic elections every 4 years without delay (1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020) with peaceful transition power between the 2 main political parties. The way you presented it sounds like as if the country is a failed state, even using stock footage of the current military leadership as if they had any agenda to do another coup. Ghana, by no means is perfect and has a long road ahead in terms of economic prosperity, but it is an undisputed beacon of peace and democracy in the world based on it's democratic trackrecord! I really love your channel, your videos are super informative and I will keep watching them even on Nebula but this is quite misleading about the state of my country!
@@B3Band yeah, maybe because people dont want to vote republican because their policies are shit and hurt everybody besides a small minority of oligarchs ? thats why republicans always attempt to destroy democracy and disenfranchise voters because if everyone gets a voice as it should be then republicans couldnt win shit. republicans losing is the system working correctly lol
@@B3Band and why we should care about the popular vote? Last time I checked the Electoral College elects the President in the US and it has been in place for the past 250 years and it worked just fine. Because the Founding Fathers knew that democracy is bulls**t meant to give the sheep a "choice" between a wolf or a fox.
Another reason why coups beget more coups is because other groups see the instability from another coup attempt as the opportunity to launch their own before power is consolidated by the group that beat them to the punch
At 2:30 the list of “successful” Thai coup is slightly unaccurate as the Palace Revolt of 1912 and 1949, the Boworadet rebellion, the Songsuradet rebellion and the manhattan rebellion all failed still very insightful video
If someone asked me to name a country with lots of coups, I'd never have thought of Thailand. I've never been, but it seems like a moderately prosperous country compared to its neighbours (apart from Malaysia) and it had a king who was on the throne for 50-60 years I think. Normally western tourists would avoid unstable countries, so despite the coups, Thailand must be doing something right!
@@rogink The amount of coups would make you think it’s some kind of failed country but somehow it’s the second or third richest in South East Asia depending on the metric you use.
@@rogink the question is should we have not had that many coups, then would we have been a more prosperous or poorer country. No one will know. We are where we are in the world as a result of these many coups. Would we want to be richer and more civilized, you bet. But there is no standardized formula of how one country should be governed to do well. Look at China for example, the wests despise them because of their totalitarian system but the country strives so fast and will over take the US soon, in my opinion.
@@rogink We were on a brink of becoming "fifth tiger of asia" then everything went stagnant as resources went into the pocket of the elites instead of the people. Still pretty safe for tourists and people are helpful but we could've rival or even surpass Singapore if there's no coup.
I once heard it said that to pull off a successful coup- 1. You must be fast 2. You must be ready to employ violence 3. You must be willing to break the law
This is how you write believable coup in your fiction works. Leave those Star Wars level of villainy political strategy to Star Wars. When you need to add political drama in your world, at least take this video into consideration because Coups are never simple.
It might not have been very clear but Palpatine did this, didn't he? He did have a power map. The senate, divided into the enemy (Volorian, Padme etc), the opportunist (the large majority) and the allies (the banking clans, some of the senate), and the Jedi who were the enemy. First he eliminated Volorian then he used the turmoil against the loyalists to buy time so that he can erode trust from the people, with the war, and so that he can turn Anakin, who he needs because of the prophecy. The exact moment he turned Anakin, he used the military to remove the opposition in form of the jedi and the separatist leadership. I think his coup is even better, even if normally not achievable, as he used this war to strengthen the trust people have in his government, as they ended the war and killed those wretched jedi who were the real enemy all along.
I found this quite an informative look into coups and how they are performed! For instance, I've heard of how coup participants may take control of radio or television stations, but I didn't know _why_ until 8:48! Thanks for the video!
Africa does have a means to stop them by using the African Union as a solidarity measure to assemble all available armies and remove or intervene in the Coup d'etat, but it will depend on the African Union's willingness to be engaged in such. The people have very little sympathy for their government as they more identify with their tribe, so they don't really care and until African governments tackle this issue, they won't be able to change the people to prevent a coup d'etat. So you have to be proactive rather than preactive with this isssue.
I've heard criticism (and I'm not sure how true it is) that the African Union is a "dictator's club" of sorts. If a clear majority of nations on the continent have successful democracies and the populace of each of those countries is dedicated to protecting democracy continent-wide, then that plan should work. However, if the governments making up the Union have more sympathy with the juntas than the governments they replaced, then it can't happen. (The memberships of the countries where a successful coup took place in 2021 have been suspended, though, so that's an encouraging sign).
If the AU asserted itself in a way that was positively reinforcing democracy within Africa, it would find its constituent countries couped by Western backed factions.
@@MrTaxiRob They kicked the dictator of The Gambia out. They can be useful, white person. They just only care about the elite, which isn't much different from the European Union.
@@sagittariusa7662 or the USA. Also, are you a brown person? I don't see where assuming a person's skin tone matters here. I support the autonomy of African nations from outside influence, even if it means I pay more for my Starbuck's.
This video should be part of the school curriculum in every democratic country to fight the "my vote doesn't matter" attitude and the growing disregard for the "rule of law". Every vote no matter how silly the topic or hopeless the policy is active political engagement and thus a vote against coups and autocracies.
I wish people would understand this. That and the fact that voting "none of the above" or voiding your ballot can also have an effect, because your dissatisfaction ends up showing up in the results, as opposed to not going to the polls, which can easily be explained away by politicians.
Your naiveté is cute. Let's talk after your vote against fascism (one definition of which is the government working with private companies against its citizens). Oh wait it's already here. Governments all over advertised for vaccine manufacturers, despite known risks of side-effects.
I mean if you only vote twice a decade outside of union activity like in a certain country that left the EU it does feel a bit more difficult to believe my vote matters, especially when the right have a huge majority in my area, so no my vote doesn't matter
great video! slight correction: during the early segment on coups in Africa you showed a video of the South African Union Buildings - South Africa is far from the Sahel region and has never experienced a coup
@@CodeSwag south Africa has 3 capitals... Bloemfontein (Judicial), Pretoria (Adminstrative) and Cape Town (Legislative) - it's one of the few countries in Africa which truly doesn't have a concentration of power.
South Africa hasn't had a coup yes, but we have had political party coups, remember the big krockodill? He refused to leave office so his party told him retire or well throw you out, remember Zuma, he went on and on about how he's the leader of the party, then Cyril showed up and said he's in charge now and he was quickly made president after that. We've also had 2 rebellions (ww1 - Maritz rebellion) and the (Rand Rebellion)
As wealthy westerners living in free democratic countries it's pretty easy for us to say "wow if these countries suck so much why don't they just overthrow their government lololol" but I doubt many of us would be eager to be the first frontline freedom fighters, were we in their shoes.
Answer: They don't meet the right conditions. Coups can quickly devolve into a civil war which is something that nobody wants, especially if the population is highly involved in the politics. If for example, the US had a coup, a 2nd Civil War would be an absolute guarantee.
Man, I've live in Thailand and witness 2 fooking coup in my life time already, it's suck so much my father went out protest during 2010 and government just open fire then armed protesters strike back by launching grenade at command tent blowing that commander leg off, later one of the protestor key member got assassination. I've never afriad for my dad life more then that event for my entire life.
As a channel that have made so many videos on coups, I find this video so much interesting and very accurate, especially as you explained how to get allies. I have made videos on all the coups that happened in Nigeria and gradually getting to coups in Africa. Thank you for this great job. By the way, I hv just discovered this channel now!
Hey PolyMatter! I recommend you to make a video about the structure of the Communist Party of China. Who gets chosen how? Who's next? Balance of power? Etc. I think it would be a good video.
Spoiler alert: they’re capitalist in every single way other than name. Vanguardists are just rebranded right wingers appealing to popular ideas. Most governments do this.
Everyone who knows Legends of the Galactic Heroes knows that Admiral Yang Wenli descibes it perfectly: The military has to be controlled by the civillians. It never has to assume/strive/seizes power, nor does it has to interfere with government or politics. The best military is a military which just collects pay checks and works untill the days dismissal. The anime Imo shows perfectly how it is done/prevented.
And then we have VA with the budget of the entire subsaharan country combined and yet still mistreating veterans and soldiers can't do jack s about it cause they're fangless and can't mobilize in number of votes in election + add that with senate approved general officers are a bunch of sycophants No wonder soldiers are increasingly getting dissilusioned with the current balance that weigh to heavily to the civillian instead of keeping the best of both professionalism and control by the state
I am sudanese and I can say that sadly this is really so accurate and it is exactly what has happened in my country , most people have lost hope and they don't really care that much , young graduates are leaving the country in droves , economy is falling and we all are paying the cost for the benefit of a group of corrupt military elites
Interesting, found a lot of the steps similar to the coup seen in the movie Valkyrie. Especially the part about giving the appearance of holding power.
the chassis of a coup is that an individual attempts to overthrow the current government with some form of use of force outside of the typical method of election. so the basis of Jan 6th being a coup is whether or not the individuals tried to overthrow the government through some force or intimidate the government into submission through some kind of force.
the chassis of a coup is that an individual attempts to overthrow the current government with some form of use of force outside of the typical method of election. so the basis of Jan 6th being a coup is whether or not the individuals tried to overthrow the government through some force or intimidate the government into submission through some kind of force.
5:40 @polymatter : dude the most underrated part of this video is that you used the "all but" saying in a way that makes sense. He is still a general, but he is all but retired meaning he isnt retired technically, but he is all of the qualities of retired and literally ALL but "Retired". Props my dude!
fantastic video, but you discredit yourself a bit when you include the January 6th riot as an example of a coup. It has virtually nothing in common with the actual coups you detailed.
it was at least attempted coup - strict definitions are hard to apply, one mans coup is another mans revolution. the nut jobs tried to *illegally* nullify the democratic process, which is a common theme with the coups he detailed.
@@username2630 an attempted coup where very few people were armed and none of those people used there weapons? how did they try to overturn the government? by sitting in nancy pelosi's chair? it was a riot pure and simple. people didn't like the outcome of the election so they vented their frustration on some windows. sounds like a mostly peaceful protest by the standards of the time.
@@cerberusloyalist5038 dont act like if the mob got their hands on some people they wouldnt have lynched them. this kind of gaslightining is the exact reason why america is in decline, a significant percentage of people never own up to their mistakes and keeps blaming everything on others without taking any responsibility whatsoever. Also, arms arent necessary for a coup, nor are they sufficient, regime change can happen without a single bullet fired. They tried to overturn the govt by stopping the electoral process based on lies.
Coup/Insurrection: A one day event where an unarmed group of people protest and a minority of which are let into the capitol building and kill nobody. Peaceful Protest: A months long series of riots that actually kill a ton of people and damage far more property than Jan 6th including government property, lead to occupations of land by newly formed governments lasting months, lead to policy changes that spark a nationwide crimewave, all of which is supported by a cabal of politicians who have never apologized or retracted their views.
@@MCArt25 Except that it is common to use foreign plurals for loan words even if they don't really make sense in English. The dictionary gives both as acceptable.
0:00: 🌍 The year 2021 saw a significant increase in successful coups, with six countries experiencing attempts, indicating that coups are still a prevalent issue in the world. 3:25: 🕵♂ The video discusses the tactics and strategies for a successful coup, emphasizing the importance of infiltrating multiple branches of government, low political participation, and avoiding civilian intervention. 6:26: 🔒 The video discusses a plan to recruit allies for a coup by targeting those who have been passed over for promotions and convincing them that their superiors are already on board. 9:37: ! The video discusses how a coup can be successful by deceiving people and gaining symbolic power. 12:44: 💥 Coups are relatively easy to pull off, but holding on to power is difficult and leads to apathy. Recap by Tammy AI
If you look up some earlier books by the political scientist the Rules for Rulers video is based upon, he had some interesting things to say about how the concentration of power in Presidential (as opposed to Parliamentary) governments made dictatorships more likely to occur.
As a Nigerian with some knowledge of the country's history, I can say two things are constant in every coup over time: 1. Apathy is a form of consent when it comes to coups. We've seen the populace increasingly demand iron-handed treatment. It does carry a semblance of legitimacy when it's time for coup plotters to strike. 2. The end of one coup is the beginning of another.
This flowchart is omitting at least one group of people: those whose loyalty lies not with the ruling party, but the country they serve. Although I guess it'd be a tall order to try and find people with such integrity within politicians, even more so in nations that are prone to coups.
Eh, I think that is more a romantic notion than a real loyalty. it is a great bit of rhetoric, but very hollow, since when you drill into it there is some more specific loyalty underneath. put another way, loyalty to 'the country they serve' is aesthetic, not functional.
@@neeneko I mean yes, but such people do exist, what is the guy in france who did this. Notably unless you have been democratic for a long period of time, I am not sure such individuals are unideological or full of integrity enough to be actually not be in one of those categories.
Nah lmao. People who are "loyal to the country" would be either of those three. It's just a matter of what they believe in. How naive of you to think coups are all about "greedy bad people." A child's way of thinking.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
Hey! We’re back after (probably?) the longest hiatus in the channel’s history. Good news: it was only a publishing delay for scheduling reasons so we’ll be releasing the videos we’ve been working on in rapid succession in the next few weeks. Enjoy and remember to check out Storyblocks if you make videos or do any sort of creative work: www.storyblocks.com/polymatter
been waiting for a while!
I don't like this thumbnail. It is manipulative, with that tiny _how_
You're better than Jake tran
@Arron incompetence is no excuse for intent.
1:40 Did you unironically call the Jan 6th 2021 protests an attempted coup d'etat? 🙄🙄🙄🙄
Man youtube REALLY does have a tutorial for everything
Personally I'm waiting for the 12 second Tik Tok version with the text-to-speech voiceover played over some temple run gameplay.
more like research in a video format
It is, I found a video about how to make an IED that detonated by mobile phone call like in movies.
* Stunts performed under expert supervision. Do not try at home *
The US did it best: getting the Military Industrial Complex/corporations/oligarchs together to silence and assassinate JFK, and essentially controlling all arms of the government and media (through oligarchs who own them with no democratic oversight).
Elections have since been manipulated through the media to give the illusion of choice.
That is the real reason why the US can't figure out exactly the details of why JFK was assassinated, and yet have the ability to figure out it was OBL who brought down the twin towers half a globe away
There are also self-coups, when the leader of the nation having come to power legally, illegally increases his power. The penultimate coup here in Sweden took place in 1772, when King Gustav III dissolved Parliament and became dictator for 20 years until he was assassinated. When the mandate of French President Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte ended in 1851, he declared himself Emperor and ruled for 19 years until he tried to follow in the footsteps of his famous uncle and attacked Germany, but was captured.
Tunisia is an example of this from last year.
History repeats….
The ultimate example is Adolf Hitler. He was legally appointed Chancellor by President Paul von Hindenburg, and used a false flag arson attack on the Reichstag to get legislation passed that helped him become an absolute dictator.
A certain watermelon seller comes to mind..
also Happened in 1972 in the Philippines
"These dictators even look the same as they did in the sixties." That's because style is never out of fashion.
“Democracy is temporal, drip is eternal”
-some random Dictator, propably
@@deutschermichel5807 "what the dog doin" - sun tzu
Neither is power.
Sigma Rule Absolute
@@deutschermichel5807 el presidente said that mate
A big element you're missing here, especially in the coup belt. Is the frequency of these types of events. Not coups necessarily but power outages, telecommunications failures, government infighting, armed presences etc. All manner of disorienting information losses are not simply an occurrence but a normalized facet of life. A coup under these conditions is substantially easier to pull off. In stable countries we rarely see these kinds of events, in some developing countries they often even have defined schedules.
This is so true. As a burmese still trapped under the Myanmar military regime, there's an unreasonable amount of power outages and lots of ethnic guerilla forces fighting with the military which has increased since the coup.
June 4, China's 'Internet Maintenance Day'
is that not obvious lol
@Wet Stoffels You can't just say something is bad and take it as a victory. Try explaining why you think that and maybe provide a source or two.
I've basically used all of these steps in Minecraft nation roleplay with my friends and It always works. It really pays to study history!
You play on stoneworks?
IP address? Is it bedrock or Java?
You’d make a great president
got banned from stoneworks for a controversial view I have that I presume was a misinterpretation or maybe they fully understood it
Pretty sure those minecraft hardcore civilization vids tipped the algorithm off.
Step 3: get funding by the US government
Step 1*
Or the USSR
Step 4 Drop Bombs on the presidential palace
@@The_Midnight_Bear A step that is now obselete
@@herisuryadi6885 Or China
Great tutorial video, straight to the point.
hol up
I'm about to put it in practice in Brazil, wish me luck 🍀🤞
@@pretendtheresaname9213 I will 🙏
wait what
@@pretendtheresaname9213 Good luck brother hope to see you in the news one day
Coup d’Etat: A Practical Handbook by Edward Luttwak is a must-read
I have more important things to do with my life
Absolutely.
Why did it fail in Turkey.
I also recommend Malaparte's Technique of Revolution
@@Addictedtoyoutube9 Because the people of Turkey are citizens of the Turkish Republic and believe in its’ institutions. Also the military is absolutely hated in the country for pass coups, crackdowns, and wars with non-Turks of the country.
Me a Thai citizen : "I'm something of an expert myself"
Burmese: *AMATEURS!*
@@imgvillasrc1608 in terms of number. Thailand is Upper hand. But in term of brutality, Myanmar is the Rush.
@@imgvillasrc1608 me a Sudanese: *YOU FOOL MY COUNTRY HAD 16 COUPS*
In the case of Myanmar, a majority of the government was always controlled by the military, even during the democratic government. (The military still held important positions, making it a you do what i say or your not doing it deal still.) Then they just decided to take control of the power they already had.
Indonesia used to do this back when Soeharto is still president. We had a thing called military dualfunction (translated), where military member would be appointed to a civilian position. Luckily we got rid of those when soeharto stepped down, but sadly there has been news that one of our minister (who also ex-military) wants to reinstitute it again 😮💨
@@renebaebae0600 he used to be one of Soeharto's men, no surprises there.
I suppose that makes it less of a military coup and more just one military dictator supplanting another.
As a Thai people, I feel so related
@@Saksitsaelow I really hope we don't see this cycle again in Thailand these days. Actually, Myanmar people took three-finger salute from our Thai brothers who did about a decade ago.
True, we are currently resisting military coup in Myanmar taking up arms. One have to note that covid really messed things up and some citizens were afraid of going out and protest during the early days and a week later everyone was like we would rather die than not tell the world we are accepting this coup.
The resistance against the Military Junta should have started when they began to slaughter civilians in Rakhine state
@its Time let the fuck flow🖕
I wish you the best in your fight for democracy. It isn’t much, but despite our media having been “distracted” by other topics, there are still people aware of what is going on in your country and hoping for you to achieve your noble goals. Best of luck to you and your friends.
@@fluffybunny5518 Myanmar democratic NLD govt is same as Myanmar Army
Both are bàd for ethnic mìńórìtìèś
Look at 14:05 again they say partly free elections
“Partly free” elections are better than no elections at all
Myanmar's Coup was flawless, everything was over by morning. Not a single shot, and no bloodshed. But they didn't anticipate the power of Facebook & Media. A week later protests started, 3 weeks later protests became violent and the soldiers started shooting.
Well then those deaths are not the fault of the military, but of american billionaires who interfere in the internal affairs of a foreign country.
Now the dictator regime is struggling to maintain power and it become so desperate to the point they have to burn down and bomb villages,carry out airstrike on most battles
I was in Thailand when the 2006 coup happened and life was normal except for the random tank stationed in my neighborhood
เหี้ยกว่านี้ก็รัฐประหารตอนบ่ายสามนี่แหละ
Yes, as he says, it's just a struggle between elites. The masses are normally left alone.
That’s probably because coups are normal in Thailand
Also though it is a good thing that life doesn’t change too much with changes in government
You must have lived somewhere near the inner part of Bangkok?
There's something comical about how you treat having a tank in your neighborhood as a petty nuisance.
At @12:48 it says 242 were successful and 244 were failures. But then it shows that 50.2% were successful and 49.8% were failures. Either the percentages or the number of coups should be the opposite.
Other than this, great video as always!
I noticed that and spent 2 minutes thinking I forgot how to math.
I checked his source and 242 were successful (49.8%), 244 were unsuccessful (50.2%).
@@tango_doggy His animation was correct, but he had a slip of the tongue when narrating it, I guess.
@@jeffbenton6183 it's the other way around actually. His narration was correct, it's the animation that's wrong.
This percentage shows the possibility of success/failure of a new coup , based on failure and success numbers.
Thx for the guide man! Working real good!
Based 👍
Yeah i am on my way to execute my rivals wish me luck 🤞 guys .
@@Snp2024 If it's your rivals are the same as America's then you sure wil get support
@@user-op8fg3ny3j thanks for tip 🙏
@@user-op8fg3ny3j cringe
Thanks for the tutorial man . Imma get back to you after giving it a try. Wish me luck!
Update?
At least you tried..
I think the better plural of "coup d’état" is "coups d’état", even in English.
Not the better - the only
I prefer "State Slaps", even as a French speaker.
@@MichaelDavis-mk4me state shocks / state hits
South Asia is a really interesting case in this regard since most of the countries got their independence around the same time but the history shows a stark contrast.
Coups by country are,
Bangladesh: 8
Pakistan: 6
Sri Lanka: 4
Myanmar: 6
Nepal: 2
India despite being the largest, one of the poorest(at the time) and most diverse had zero thanks to the quick reforms to the military.
Generals were taken out of decision making of the general council, the head of the army was made powerless by himself as he didn't have direct command of any troops but rather lieutenant Generals who then commanded troops. Also, multiple intelligence agencies that recruited from civil government controlled paramilitary were set up instead of having militaristic spy agencies.
Maldives also had coup i think
Even Afghanistan
Only India & Bhutan
@@JapGujral2000 you're right, although Bhutan doesn't really have a military so having a coup would be very difficult
One more reason to celebrate Field Marshal Manekshaw.
Also, the various Iranian people groups (Parsis, Yazdis, Iranis) which have over time migrated here are the best argument for keeping an open mind and a somewhat open gate for immigration.
Thanks, polymatter!
Now, having watched this video, I'm ready to start my own coup!
When i finally become dictator, i will donate a golden mine to you!
As long as it's against a "rouge state" the CIA will gladly help
These how-to guides are getting out of hand
@@user-op8fg3ny3j just remember to kick them out as soon as you succeed or the US will seize power and important resources in your country
Don't trust Happy Elephant, Polymatter. No intellectuals will be safe in their new regime! 😜
thanks for the step-by step man, looking forward to doing this IRL soon.
FBI I WAS JOKING
@@f_mateo_h141 america has way to big of an armed forces for your coup to work
What is crucial for Coups is a lack of trust. When you can't trust your fellow soldier or your officers to do the right thing, self-preservation takes priority. And in these political climates, self-preservation tells the soldier - don't do anything. Watch and see who is the "winner" and back them. You might want to do the right thing but you have no faith that enough people will agree, so you could be committing a form of suicide by opposing a coup. If no one knows who is on board, and no one knows where loyalties lie, then no one will act.
This is why it is critical to keep people, soldier and civilians, engaged in politics and aware of what processes should occur and when. It is also why precedent and political norms are so vital to democracy - a lot of democracy is built on norms and the people accepting new leaders if they conform to those norms.
Democracy is only possible when people care enough about it and are informed enough about checks and balances. Democracy is, sadly, always a few generations away from failing, no matter how strong it seems today. Continuous education and civil participation is extremely important. Be aware - be VERY aware - of those who seek to undermine participation, restrict or discourage voting, or encourage apathy.
Ghana had it's last coup d'etat in 1981... 31 years ago!!!
Since 1992 there has been 8 successful democratic elections every 4 years without delay (1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020) with peaceful transition power between the 2 main political parties.
The way you presented it sounds like as if the country is a failed state, even using stock footage of the current military leadership as if they had any agenda to do another coup.
Ghana, by no means is perfect and has a long road ahead in terms of economic prosperity, but it is an undisputed beacon of peace and democracy in the world based on it's democratic trackrecord!
I really love your channel, your videos are super informative and I will keep watching them even on Nebula but this is quite misleading about the state of my country!
1981 was 41 years ago. Not 31.
In those 8 election years you mentioned, the Republican Party in the USA only won the popular vote once.
Did Ghana go through 10 coups though? Quite surprised to see that
@@B3Band yeah, maybe because people dont want to vote republican because their policies are shit and hurt everybody besides a small minority of oligarchs ? thats why republicans always attempt to destroy democracy and disenfranchise voters because if everyone gets a voice as it should be then republicans couldnt win shit. republicans losing is the system working correctly lol
@@B3Band and why we should care about the popular vote? Last time I checked the Electoral College elects the President in the US and it has been in place for the past 250 years and it worked just fine. Because the Founding Fathers knew that democracy is bulls**t meant to give the sheep a "choice" between a wolf or a fox.
Thank you,my brother
Another reason why coups beget more coups is because other groups see the instability from another coup attempt as the opportunity to launch their own before power is consolidated by the group that beat them to the punch
At 2:30 the list of “successful” Thai coup is slightly unaccurate as the Palace Revolt of 1912 and 1949, the Boworadet rebellion, the Songsuradet rebellion and the manhattan rebellion all failed
still very insightful video
Plaek miraculously survived Manhattan Rebellion and several other attempts to topple him. He's like Siamese Castro.
If someone asked me to name a country with lots of coups, I'd never have thought of Thailand. I've never been, but it seems like a moderately prosperous country compared to its neighbours (apart from Malaysia) and it had a king who was on the throne for 50-60 years I think. Normally western tourists would avoid unstable countries, so despite the coups, Thailand must be doing something right!
@@rogink The amount of coups would make you think it’s some kind of failed country but somehow it’s the second or third richest in South East Asia depending on the metric you use.
@@rogink the question is should we have not had that many coups, then would we have been a more prosperous or poorer country. No one will know. We are where we are in the world as a result of these many coups. Would we want to be richer and more civilized, you bet. But there is no standardized formula of how one country should be governed to do well. Look at China for example, the wests despise them because of their totalitarian system but the country strives so fast and will over take the US soon, in my opinion.
@@rogink We were on a brink of becoming "fifth tiger of asia" then everything went stagnant as resources went into the pocket of the elites instead of the people.
Still pretty safe for tourists and people are helpful but we could've rival or even surpass Singapore if there's no coup.
I once heard it said that to pull off a successful coup-
1. You must be fast
2. You must be ready to employ violence
3. You must be willing to break the law
Well obviously, you need to break the law
Basically you become the law.
@@dontcomply3976cant break the law if you become the law
This is how you write believable coup in your fiction works. Leave those Star Wars level of villainy political strategy to Star Wars. When you need to add political drama in your world, at least take this video into consideration because Coups are never simple.
Agreed , a comment here reminded me of What a the Last Airbender and the secret police coup of basing se
Funnily this is the exact reason I just rewatched this.
It might not have been very clear but Palpatine did this, didn't he?
He did have a power map. The senate, divided into the enemy (Volorian, Padme etc), the opportunist (the large majority) and the allies (the banking clans, some of the senate), and the Jedi who were the enemy.
First he eliminated Volorian then he used the turmoil against the loyalists to buy time so that he can erode trust from the people, with the war, and so that he can turn Anakin, who he needs because of the prophecy.
The exact moment he turned Anakin, he used the military to remove the opposition in form of the jedi and the separatist leadership.
I think his coup is even better, even if normally not achievable, as he used this war to strengthen the trust people have in his government, as they ended the war and killed those wretched jedi who were the real enemy all along.
I found this quite an informative look into coups and how they are performed! For instance, I've heard of how coup participants may take control of radio or television stations, but I didn't know _why_ until 8:48! Thanks for the video!
Africa does have a means to stop them by using the African Union as a solidarity measure to assemble all available armies and remove or intervene in the Coup d'etat, but it will depend on the African Union's willingness to be engaged in such. The people have very little sympathy for their government as they more identify with their tribe, so they don't really care and until African governments tackle this issue, they won't be able to change the people to prevent a coup d'etat. So you have to be proactive rather than preactive with this isssue.
I've heard criticism (and I'm not sure how true it is) that the African Union is a "dictator's club" of sorts. If a clear majority of nations on the continent have successful democracies and the populace of each of those countries is dedicated to protecting democracy continent-wide, then that plan should work. However, if the governments making up the Union have more sympathy with the juntas than the governments they replaced, then it can't happen. (The memberships of the countries where a successful coup took place in 2021 have been suspended, though, so that's an encouraging sign).
As a South African I didnt even know the African Union was even a thing yet.
If the AU asserted itself in a way that was positively reinforcing democracy within Africa, it would find its constituent countries couped by Western backed factions.
@@MrTaxiRob They kicked the dictator of The Gambia out. They can be useful, white person. They just only care about the elite, which isn't much different from the European Union.
@@sagittariusa7662 or the USA. Also, are you a brown person? I don't see where assuming a person's skin tone matters here. I support the autonomy of African nations from outside influence, even if it means I pay more for my Starbuck's.
Coup, coup never changes.
You forgot the part about having a girl do a dance workout while your vehicles parade in the background up the street and into the capital.
This video should be part of the school curriculum in every democratic country to fight the "my vote doesn't matter" attitude and the growing disregard for the "rule of law". Every vote no matter how silly the topic or hopeless the policy is active political engagement and thus a vote against coups and autocracies.
💯
I wish people would understand this. That and the fact that voting "none of the above" or voiding your ballot can also have an effect, because your dissatisfaction ends up showing up in the results, as opposed to not going to the polls, which can easily be explained away by politicians.
Your naiveté is cute. Let's talk after your vote against fascism (one definition of which is the government working with private companies against its citizens). Oh wait it's already here. Governments all over advertised for vaccine manufacturers, despite known risks of side-effects.
Man if you think that voting matters you have no understanding of modern politics
I mean if you only vote twice a decade outside of union activity like in a certain country that left the EU it does feel a bit more difficult to believe my vote matters, especially when the right have a huge majority in my area, so no my vote doesn't matter
I still remember when every Thai TV channel broadcasted ONLY patriotic songs all day all night lol.
Thanks for the tutorial, will definitely try this
great video! slight correction: during the early segment on coups in Africa you showed a video of the South African Union Buildings - South Africa is far from the Sahel region and has never experienced a coup
That clip was shown when he was talking about concentration of power, made sense.
@@CodeSwag south Africa has 3 capitals... Bloemfontein (Judicial), Pretoria (Adminstrative) and Cape Town (Legislative) - it's one of the few countries in Africa which truly doesn't have a concentration of power.
@@benjianstey4661 makes it even more funny that that clip got chosen
not yet
South Africa hasn't had a coup yes, but we have had political party coups, remember the big krockodill? He refused to leave office so his party told him retire or well throw you out, remember Zuma, he went on and on about how he's the leader of the party, then Cyril showed up and said he's in charge now and he was quickly made president after that. We've also had 2 rebellions (ww1 - Maritz rebellion) and the (Rand Rebellion)
considering what happens in most places, im shocked there arent more coups
Too risky. Failure means death.
As wealthy westerners living in free democratic countries it's pretty easy for us to say "wow if these countries suck so much why don't they just overthrow their government lololol" but I doubt many of us would be eager to be the first frontline freedom fighters, were we in their shoes.
Can't wait for one in the US. We can use one right about now.
Answer: They don't meet the right conditions.
Coups can quickly devolve into a civil war which is something that nobody wants, especially if the population is highly involved in the politics.
If for example, the US had a coup, a 2nd Civil War would be an absolute guarantee.
@@DroneStrike1776
The reason why there are like 10 Intelligence Agencies in the US and like 1000 plus police departments is too stop exactly that
Fallen in love with this channel . Everything is explained so systematically
I always thought you could make a really good strategy game based on a coups
HoI4 Soviet Union political paranoia
Precipice
Was really looking for this tutorial. Thanks! Seems very useful.
6:17 "if there are multiple candidates for a given role we pick the less qualified one"
I think this sums up the majority of politics lmao
Ah yes! A step-by-step guide to starting a coup 👀
And to prevent them lol
it is very based 👍
The CIA is very proud
*calls January 6 a coup*
*proceeds to describe coups as something literally opposite of January 6*
Jan 6 was a coup attempt, but a really shitty one.
I see the rightwing is still triggered that their coup failed.
Yoon should’ve taken notes
11:45 - the coup televised address cliche gave me a chuckle.
The fact that his map used the ancient roman forum as the government perimeter
The algorithm knows things
Man, I've live in Thailand and witness 2 fooking coup in my life time already, it's suck so much my father went out protest during 2010 and government just open fire then armed protesters strike back by launching grenade at command tent blowing that commander leg off, later one of the protestor key member got assassination.
I've never afriad for my dad life more then that event for my entire life.
As a silent red shirt myself, I totally understand you. It tears me up every time this event was mentioned.
As a channel that have made so many videos on coups, I find this video so much interesting and very accurate, especially as you explained how to get allies. I have made videos on all the coups that happened in Nigeria and gradually getting to coups in Africa. Thank you for this great job.
By the way, I hv just discovered this channel now!
Amazing tutorial! I've been waiting for a tutorial on dictatorship for so long!
How to be a dictator… on Netflix
There is a small mistake at 13:10 (the percentages are flipped). Apart from that, this really was an excellent tutorial on how to stage a coup.
Hey PolyMatter! I recommend you to make a video about the structure of the Communist Party of China. Who gets chosen how? Who's next? Balance of power? Etc. I think it would be a good video.
The problem is that that information isn't really public.
Spoiler alert: they’re capitalist in every single way other than name. Vanguardists are just rebranded right wingers appealing to popular ideas. Most governments do this.
Pedantry corner: it's "coups d'état"
how many have we orchestrated in "rebel" countries whose government dont listen to us
Not enough
too many the public has forgotten
It's bananas how many they were.
US: “yes”
It's funny, because the coup in Burma was one of the few examples done against American control, rather than in favor of it.
Everyone who knows Legends of the Galactic Heroes knows that Admiral Yang Wenli descibes it perfectly:
The military has to be controlled by the civillians. It never has to assume/strive/seizes power, nor does it has to interfere with government or politics.
The best military is a military which just collects pay checks and works untill the days dismissal.
The anime Imo shows perfectly how it is done/prevented.
Real life shows how it is done and prevented
Anime aint real life
LOTGH MENTIONED
LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
And then we have VA with the budget of the entire subsaharan country combined and yet still mistreating veterans and soldiers can't do jack s about it cause they're fangless and can't mobilize in number of votes in election + add that with senate approved general officers are a bunch of sycophants
No wonder soldiers are increasingly getting dissilusioned with the current balance that weigh to heavily to the civillian instead of keeping the best of both professionalism and control by the state
Very useful will be using
I am sudanese and I can say that sadly this is really so accurate and it is exactly what has happened in my country , most people have lost hope and they don't really care that much , young graduates are leaving the country in droves , economy is falling and we all are paying the cost for the benefit of a group of corrupt military elites
As a sudanese i have to say screw burhan and his military government
10:52
"Power resides where men believe it resides" -Varys from that one dragon show
Interesting, found a lot of the steps similar to the coup seen in the movie Valkyrie. Especially the part about giving the appearance of holding power.
1:41
Calling Jan6 the coup is an insult to coups
the chassis of a coup is that an individual attempts to overthrow the current government with some form of use of force outside of the typical method of election.
so the basis of Jan 6th being a coup is whether or not the individuals tried to overthrow the government through some force or intimidate the government into submission through some kind of force.
"jan 6 was coup"
pffff
the chassis of a coup is that an individual attempts to overthrow the current government with some form of use of force outside of the typical method of election.
so the basis of Jan 6th being a coup is whether or not the individuals tried to overthrow the government through some force or intimidate the government into submission through some kind of force.
"Infiltrate the dealer. Find the supplier."
5:40 @polymatter : dude the most underrated part of this video is that you used the "all but" saying in a way that makes sense. He is still a general, but he is all but retired meaning he isnt retired technically, but he is all of the qualities of retired and literally ALL but "Retired". Props my dude!
jan 6 was a demonstration let loose on purpose. Great example, if you meant the intent and motives of those who let It escalate.
Exactly. Coups don’t have the opposing forces open the doors and wave them inside. A setup, on the other hand, does.
Thanks for the tutorial, I'll let you know how it goes.
I woke up today wanting to plan a coup for my D&D game. This was an excellent primer.
fantastic video, but you discredit yourself a bit when you include the January 6th riot as an example of a coup. It has virtually nothing in common with the actual coups you detailed.
it was at least attempted coup - strict definitions are hard to apply, one mans coup is another mans revolution. the nut jobs tried to *illegally* nullify the democratic process, which is a common theme with the coups he detailed.
@@username2630 an attempted coup where very few people were armed and none of those people used there weapons? how did they try to overturn the government? by sitting in nancy pelosi's chair? it was a riot pure and simple. people didn't like the outcome of the election so they vented their frustration on some windows. sounds like a mostly peaceful protest by the standards of the time.
@@cerberusloyalist5038 dont act like if the mob got their hands on some people they wouldnt have lynched them. this kind of gaslightining is the exact reason why america is in decline, a significant percentage of people never own up to their mistakes and keeps blaming everything on others without taking any responsibility whatsoever. Also, arms arent necessary for a coup, nor are they sufficient, regime change can happen without a single bullet fired. They tried to overturn the govt by stopping the electoral process based on lies.
@@username2630 im not gaslighting you just because I don't reinforce your propagandized view of jan 6.
Coup/Insurrection: A one day event where an unarmed group of people protest and a minority of which are let into the capitol building and kill nobody.
Peaceful Protest: A months long series of riots that actually kill a ton of people and damage far more property than Jan 6th including government property, lead to occupations of land by newly formed governments lasting months, lead to policy changes that spark a nationwide crimewave, all of which is supported by a cabal of politicians who have never apologized or retracted their views.
I just overthrew my student council.
The Coup D'etats, not to be confused with the more famous Coup deVille.
Shouldn't the plural be "Coups d’état" instead of "Coup d’états"?
depends on whether you're talking in English or French - "de" is a preposition in French, but not in English, so in English it's just part of the word
@@MCArt25 Except that it is common to use foreign plurals for loan words even if they don't really make sense in English. The dictionary gives both as acceptable.
@@timseguine2 It's only common to do that in certain circumstances, but generally only by people who are being a bit too pretentious
0:00: 🌍 The year 2021 saw a significant increase in successful coups, with six countries experiencing attempts, indicating that coups are still a prevalent issue in the world.
3:25: 🕵♂ The video discusses the tactics and strategies for a successful coup, emphasizing the importance of infiltrating multiple branches of government, low political participation, and avoiding civilian intervention.
6:26: 🔒 The video discusses a plan to recruit allies for a coup by targeting those who have been passed over for promotions and convincing them that their superiors are already on board.
9:37: ! The video discusses how a coup can be successful by deceiving people and gaining symbolic power.
12:44: 💥 Coups are relatively easy to pull off, but holding on to power is difficult and leads to apathy.
Recap by Tammy AI
Great video! One of the most interesting videos I have watched in recent times. Need to plan one 😅
Gonna try this tutorial IRL. I'll keep you posted on how it goes!
3:43 “it is very unlikely that all 4 will” i thought there were 5
must of mixed up "the other 4 will" and "that all 5 will"
Now can you make a video on USA style :"Regime Change" ?
The USA is the real cause of coups around the world
I don't know if I love you more for the tutorial (I promise to be a benevolent dictator!) or the awesome animations. Cheers anyhow!
Nice Guide, Thx. Best Tutorial I could find on YT.
3:09 if they had a numerical advantage it would probably be called a revolution and not a coup
Great theme, been wondering about this for a long time!
"Zimbabwe is not in the midst of a coup!"
- Zimbabwe's head general, on Zimbabwean television, in the midst of a coup
3:09 - it's a great nuance to note that coups are surgical operations not overwhelming displays of firepower.
Gorgeous visuals!!!
Great video! Gives me a lot of Rules for Rulers (CGP Grey video) vibes (the way it's presented + the topic at hand)
Was thinking about the same video hahaha
If you look up some earlier books by the political scientist the Rules for Rulers video is based upon, he had some interesting things to say about how the concentration of power in Presidential (as opposed to Parliamentary) governments made dictatorships more likely to occur.
As a Nigerian with some knowledge of the country's history, I can say two things are constant in every coup over time:
1. Apathy is a form of consent when it comes to coups. We've seen the populace increasingly demand iron-handed treatment. It does carry a semblance of legitimacy when it's time for coup plotters to strike.
2. The end of one coup is the beginning of another.
man i always get giddy when i sr a notification from this channel. lol.
thanks from West Michigan
Great tutorial, will try using it!
Fun fact, given that coup d'etat is french loan expression its plural it actually be "coups d'État"
Yeah no, as an american i think i wanna side with the improper british here.
Welcome back Polymatter! Missed you guys, hope you are well. :)
Who’s here after Wagner coup?
The hard part isn't getting to power but keeping that power is the real challenge
Thanks for the information. It's gonna be very useful for me soon.
Thanks for the tutorial! They won't see this one coming.
You forgot the part about seeking CIA assistance in destroying democracy
Ah that's fine as long as it's not communist, just don't you dare vote in a communist or start taking commie money 🤫
This flowchart is omitting at least one group of people: those whose loyalty lies not with the ruling party, but the country they serve. Although I guess it'd be a tall order to try and find people with such integrity within politicians, even more so in nations that are prone to coups.
if you serve the nation is it best to stay loyal to the existing regime or is it to make the new regime better?
Eh, I think that is more a romantic notion than a real loyalty. it is a great bit of rhetoric, but very hollow, since when you drill into it there is some more specific loyalty underneath. put another way, loyalty to 'the country they serve' is aesthetic, not functional.
Lol
Lmao even
@@neeneko I mean yes, but such people do exist, what is the guy in france who did this.
Notably unless you have been democratic for a long period of time, I am not sure such individuals are unideological or full of integrity enough to be actually not be in one of those categories.
Nah lmao. People who are "loyal to the country" would be either of those three. It's just a matter of what they believe in. How naive of you to think coups are all about "greedy bad people." A child's way of thinking.
12:26 this aged like fine wine.
It will be really helpful, thanks
Solid video as always, but with one flaw.
12:47
242 were successful, 244 were failures. You have the percentages backwards.
The correct plural of “coup d’état” is “coups d’état,” not “coup d’états.”
depends on whether you're talking in English or French
Excellent tips Comrade!
I liked the video, but the ad at the end was distasteful. Using the Myanmar coup as a selling point for an ad for a video service, for real?
Coups peak in West Africa, in a short period you've Guinea, Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali all happened.