Revisiting Edward Luttwak’s Coup d'État: A Practical Handbook in the context of recent political upheaval in Gabon and the Sahel Region
Editors note: Funding for this research was provided by SOAS, University of London under the ISPF-ODA Programme, for the project, 'Coup d'état and the potentials for reconstruction and renewal in Africa led by Dr L Enonchong.
Introduction
The wave of democratisation that swept across Africa in the 1990s brought renewed hope for greater adherence to the rule of law and democratic principles. Yet, the resurgence of military coups over the past few years highlights just how far the continent still has to go in achieving the political and economic stability needed to improve the lives of its citizens.
Since 2020, the continent has been rocked by the (re)occurrence of military coups which jeopardise democracy progress. At least nine successful coup d'états have been orchestrated in countries like Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Guinea, Sudan, Chad and Gabon. This wave of unconstitutional power transfer is generally grounded in poor governance, weak state institutions, the syndrome of life presidencies, and to some extent geopolitics and the influence of external actors. Yet, interestingly, these coups have also emerged at a time when mechanisms for reconstruction and renewal across Africa are being actively pursued.
In this piece, I reflect on some aspects of a book entitled Coup d’État A Practical Handbook, a book first published in 1976 by Edward Luttwak. The book remains a seminal work in the study of political power seizures, offering a comprehensive typology of coups that continues to inform analyses of regime changes around the globe. However, questions arise regarding the extent to which it speaks to the series of coups that have occurred in Africa more broadly since the 1952 coup in Egypt, that deposed King Farouk, and those orchestrated in the Sahel region since 2020 in particular.
According to Luttwak, a coup d’état involves elements of various methods by which power can be seized but, unlike most of them, a coup is not assisted by mass intervention or any large-scale combat by military forces. Importantly, he argues that a coup d’état is politically neutral, with no presumption that any particular policies will be followed once the new leaders rise to power. Based on this characterisation, the Luttwak defines a coup as follows:
A coup consists of the infiltration of a small but critical segment of the state apparatus, which is then used to displace the government from its control of the remainder.
A brief account of the recent coup d’états in Gabon and the Sahel region
Since 2020, the Sahel region, currently nicknamed the coup belt has recorded many coup d’etats involving leaders of the army. In Mali, a coup occurred on 18 August 2020 followed by another on 24 May 2021 under the leadership of Colonel Assimi Goita, who is currently in power. In that same year, on 5 September 2021 President Alpha Conde was deposed following a coup led by Colonel Mamadou Doumbouya who also remains in power. Similarly on 20 April 2021, General Mahamat Déby rose to power in replacement of his father president, Idriss Déby who was killed during a military operation.
Further, on 23 January 2022 and again on 30 September 2022, Burkina Faso recorded two successful coups d’etat that ultimately brought Captain Ibrahim Traore in power. Similar events recurred in 2023 when General Abdourahamane Tchiani seized power in Niger on 26 July 2023 following a coup. In Gabon (which is not part of the Sahel region), on 30 August 2023, General Brice Oligui Ngeuma ousted President Ali Bongo and became the president of the transition.
It is worth noting that in the literature, a proper conceptual framework around the notion of coup d’état is still lacking. In the early pages of his book, Luttwak outlines the following concepts that can be considered as a typology of coups d’etat:
The typology of coups d'etat
Revolution
According to Luttwak, a revolution is an action conducted, initially at least, by uncoordinated popular masses with the aim of changing both social and political structures, as well as the leadership personalities. The term revolution has gained a certain popularity, and is often used to describe coups, as it carries the implication that “the people” rather than a few plotters were responsible for the change.
“A coup consists of the infiltration of a small but critical segment of the state apparatus, which is then used to displace the government from its control of the remainder”
The coups d’etat carried out in Mali in 2020 and 2021, and in Burkina Faso the following year were grounded in widespread public dissatisfaction with governments’ inability to address jihadist insurgencies in the region as well as economic stagnation. Although these coups were led by military elites, they enjoyed significant popular support, revealing a quasi-revolutionary character. Nonetheless, the lack of a clear ideological shift distinguishes them from Luttwak’s ideal type of revolution.
Civil War
Luttwak defines a civil war as outright warfare between elements of the armed forces and/or the population at large. Analysing this through the lenses of coups in the Sahel region, notably in Mali and Burkina Faso, there were ethnic tensions and protracted insurgencies that contributed to weaken state structures and paved the way for military coups. Nonetheless, it is worth mentioning that these coups were not civil wars in themselves.
Pronunciamiento
This terms originally characterises the Spanish and South American version of the military coup d’état. The pronunciamiento was often a liberal rather than a reactionary phenomenon as the theoretical purpose of the takeover was to reaffirm the “national will”.
Over time, the essence of pronunciamento evolved owing to the army turning toward the right wing as opposed to Spanish governments. The theory then shifted from the neoliberal “national will” to the neoconservative “real will” theory. The pronunciamiento was planned and organised by a particular military leader, but it was orchestrated in the name of the entire officer corps.
This portrays the coups orchestrated in Niger and Mali. In the former the army justified its move by referring to the government’s failure to resolve security and economic challenges while in the latter reference was made to the necessary intervention to bring corruption and mismanagement to an end. The coups in Mali and Niger are consistent with Luttwak’s claim according to which military elites often portray themselves as saviours rather than usurpers.
Putsch
Historically, a putsch is essentially a wartime or immediate postwar phenomenon. A putsch is orchestrated by a faction within the army or, at times, civilians leveraging military support. The coup that occurred in Gabon in August 2023, which ousted President Ali Bongo after 56 years of the Bongo family in power, fits this category. The coup, orchestrated under the aegis of General Brice Olingui Nguema and a small group of military officers, lacked the mass mobilisation that characterised many Sahelian coups.
Liberation or war of liberation
A state may be said (by supporters of the coup) to be liberated when its government is overthrown by foreign military or diplomatic intervention. While the concept of liberation or war of liberation does not neatly fit within the typology of coups, Luttwak notes that some coups leaders often adopt the rhetoric and arguments of national liberation movements to justify and legitimise their rise to power. In Mali and Burkina Faso, post-coup discourse heavily featured anti-French sentiment and allegations of neo-colonialism against France, the “former” colonial power. While this is open to debate, the continued existence of Françafrique years after formal independence lends a strong argument to the coups leaders’ portrayal of themselves as liberators, freeing their nations from foreign domination and corrupt elites. This is consistent with Luttwak’s idea of liberation coups. Nonetheless, given that there was no armed struggle, the coups in the Sahel cannot be characterised as war of liberation.
Conclusion
The coups in the Sahel region and Gabon since 2020 highlight both the enduring relevance and limitations of Edward Luttwak’s typology of coups d’état. While his framework offers a valuable starting point for categorising the different types of coups, it often falls short of capturing the nuanced interplay of geopolitical influences, as well as the socioeconomic and historical factors that shape power dynamics. The coups d’etat in the Sahel were fuelled by various factors including anti-colonial sentiment, terrorism, economic stagnation, corruption and weak state institutions. In contrast, the coup Gabon appeared to have been the result of elite power struggles in a system where power has been confiscated by the incumbent amidst corruption and poor governance. Overall, while Luttwak’s work remains a relevant tool for understanding the phenomenon of coups, it requires adaptation to full account for the multifaceted and evolving nature of political instability in the 21st-century, especially in Africa.
