← Back to catalogue
Published

coup d'état

vr.tr.coup-d-tat · thing-q45382

Let an agent explain coups d etat and their types, relay research on causes, frequency and consequences from political science sources with attribution, describe international responses, and distinguish coups from revolutions, civil wars, impeachments and elections, without providing guidance for planning or executing one.

Thing Registry Activities and processes ACT.ACT

Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled

4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions

Understand What a coup is.

Definition

Definition.

Definition

Definition.

  1. What is a coup d etat, and how does it differ from revolution, civil war, impeachment and election? definition
  2. Is the question about understanding coups, or about planning or executing one, which the model does not cover? boundary

Types

Types.

Types

Types.

  1. How do military, bloodless, self, attempted, soft and promissory coups differ, and what was shukun oshikome? definition
  2. Which entry fits the specific type or event? action
Research Research.

Causes

Causes.

Causes

Causes.

  1. What does research say about the causes of coups and coup-proofing, with findings attributed? provenance
  2. Which references are standard? provenance

Consequences

Consequences.

Consequences

Consequences.

  1. What are the consequences of coups for democracy, economies and human rights, as studies report? provenance
  2. Which sources are cited? provenance
Response Responses.

International

International responses.

International

International.

  1. How do the UN, African Union and other bodies respond to coups, and what debates exist, with positions attributed? provenance
  2. Is the presentation neutral? boundary

Law

Law.

Law

Law.

  1. How do constitutions and international law treat unconstitutional changes of government? provenance
  2. Which entry fits unconstitutional change of government? action
Context History and cases.

History

History.

History

History.

  1. How have coups shaped 20th and 21st-century history, with cases attributed to historians? provenance
  2. Which entry fits the specific coup? action

Culture

Culture.

Culture

Culture.

  1. How are coups portrayed in literature and film? provenance
  2. Which entry fits political fiction? action

Classifiers Filled

Family
Thing Registry
Category
Activities and processes
Entry kind
thing
Plane
ACT
Domain
ACT.ACT
Other names and narrower kinds
attempted coup d'état, 1989 Guatemalan coup attempt, soft coup, shukun oshikome, bloodless coup d'état, promissory coup, Counter-coup, Coupvolution, pronunciamiento, 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, gekokujō, military coup

What it is Filled

An illegal and overt attempt by a segment of the military or government elites to forcibly overthrow an incumbent government and seize state power, whether the attempt succeeds or fails. Such an attempt may be bloodless if coercive force meets no violent resistance, and participants may justify it by promising elections. Incumbent self-coups and nonviolent institutional pressure fall outside this sense; coups are studied in political science and condemned by international organisations.

Why it exists Filled

Let an agent explain coups d etat and their types, relay research on causes, frequency and consequences from political science sources with attribution, describe international responses, and distinguish coups from revolutions, civil wars, impeachments and elections, without providing guidance for planning or executing one.

Distinguishing features Filled

  • The attempt is overt and illegal.
  • A segment of the military or government elites carries it out.
  • It uses coercive force to attempt to overthrow an incumbent government.
  • Its aim is to seize state power.

What robots and AI may and may not do Filled

Must not

  • Help plan, organise, finance or communicate for any seizure of power.
  • Spread unverified claims that a coup is happening or has succeeded.
  • Expose the identities or locations of people at risk from coup actors.
  • Present a coup as legitimate government on its own say-so.

Only with a human decision

  • Deciding how to label a contested transfer of power as a coup or not in a published source.

May

  • Explain coups as a historical and political phenomenon, citing scholarship and documented cases.
  • Report factual events about a coup in progress with sources and times.

Moral aspects Filled

  • Coups override citizens' choice and often bring violence and repression.
  • Labelling events as a coup is politically charged and must rest on evidence.

Who is affected

  • Citizens of the affected country
  • Political opponents and journalists
  • Soldiers

Owners Filled

Steward

Nobody owns it; it is an act against the constitutional order of a state.

Links to other meta-models Filled

parent

  • Q1673271 - registry parent class
  • Q180684 - registry parent class

related

  • regime change - in registry terms
  • conflict - in registry terms
  • revolution - a mass uprising
  • political science - through coup datasets

What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled

Identity and identifiers required Filled

  • Vercy registry: vr.tr.coup-d-tat
  • Wikidata: Q45382 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q45382)

Direct properties not applicable Not applicable

  • coups since 1950: about 500 count - Powell and Thyne data, roughly half successful
  • recent wave: 2020s period - Sahel region

Plane ACT: no invented physical properties.

Recognition optional Filled

  • The defining act is an overt, illegal attempt to forcibly overthrow an incumbent government and seize state power.
  • Military coups, bloodless coups and promissory coups fit this sense when they meet those criteria, whether successful or failed.
  • Revolutions are mass movements; impeachment is constitutional; civil wars are prolonged conflicts.
  • Not a visible object; a seizure of power.

Capabilities and actions required Filled

  • explain types
  • relay research
  • describe international responses
  • distinguish related events

Hazards and failure modes required Filled

  • Agents providing operational guidance
  • Partisan labelling of contested events
  • Confusing coups with revolutions or legal transfers

Standards and interfaces required Filled

  • International condemnation and suspension rules such as the African Union anti-coup norm
  • Constitutional provisions against unconstitutional changes of government
  • Foreign aid restrictions following coups

Context of use required Filled

  • Not applicable; a political event type.
  • military coups
  • bloodless coups
  • self-coups or autogolpes
  • attempted and failed coups such as the 1989 Guatemalan attempt
  • soft coups and promissory coups
  • historical forms such as palace coups and shukun oshikome

Sources Filled

  1. Wikidata item Q45382: coup d'état - identity and sense of the item
  2. Wikipedia: Coup d'état - general description of the item

Open questions

  • Should self-coup and military coup be separate primary entries?
  • How should political science sources be linked?
  • The registry entry has merged aliases naming a specific attempt and a Japanese historical practice; should they be split off?

Machine files

Provenance

thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed

Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q45382/spec.json