   #copyright

Military dictatorship

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Politics and government

   A military dictatorship is a form of government wherein the political
   power resides with the military; it is similar but not identical to a
   stratocracy, a state ruled directly by the military.

Nature and typology

   Like any dictatorships, a military dictatorship may be official or
   unofficial, and as a result may not actually qualify as stratocratic
   (some military dictators, like Panama's Manuel Noriega, are nominally
   subordinate to the civil government). Mixed forms also exist, where the
   military exerts a very strong influence without being entirely
   dominant.

   The declaration by which a military coup d'état is made official is
   called a pronunciamento, from the Portuguese or Spanish
   pronunciamiento, 'proclamation'.

   The typical military dictatorship in Latin America was ruled by a junta
   (derived from a Portuguese/Spanish word which can be translated as
   "conference" or "board"), or a committee composed of several officers,
   often from the military's most senior leadership, but in other cases
   (e.g. when their military superiors remained loyal to, or indeed were,
   the previous regime) less senior, as evidenced by the term colonels'
   regime. Other military dictatorships are entirely in the hands of a
   single officer, usually the senior army commander. In either case, the
   chairman of the junta or the single commander may often personally
   assume office as head of state.

   In the Middle East and Africa, military governments more often came to
   be led by a single powerful person, and were autocracies in addition to
   military dictatorships. Leaders like Idi Amin, Muammar al-Qaddafi, and
   Gamal Abdul Nasser worked to develop a personality cult and became the
   face of the nation inside and outside their countries.

   Most military dictatorships are formed after a coup d'état has
   overthrown the previous government. One very different pattern was the
   one followed by Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, which began as a
   one-party state ruled by the Ba'ath Party, but over the course of its
   existence turned into a military dictatorship (as its leaders donned
   uniforms and the military became closely involved in the government).
   Conversely, other military dictatorships may gradually restore
   significant components of civilian government while the senior-most
   military commander still maintains supreme political power. In
   Pakistan, ruling Generals Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq ( 1977- 1988) and Pervez
   Musharraf ( 1999 till present) have held singular referendums to elect
   themselves President of Pakistan for a further several years, as well
   as general elections voting in civilian Prime Ministers (politically
   subordinate to the President). Despite this, the Pakistan Army
   maintained a monopoly over the power structure in both cases, with the
   country's four provinces entirely coming under the dictatorial military
   rule of senior generals in the President's cabinet, such as General
   Rahimuddin Khan's authoritarian and unprecedentedly long rule over
   Balochistan, the country's largest province.

   In the past, military juntas have justified their rule as a way of
   bringing political stability for the nation or rescuing it from the
   threat of "dangerous ideologies". This is a form of threat
   construction. In Latin America the threat of communism or capitalism
   was often used, while in the Middle East the desire to oppose Israel
   and later Islamic fundamentalism proved an important motivating
   pattern. Military regimes tend to portray themselves as non-partisan,
   as a "neutral" party that can provide interim leadership in times of
   turmoil, and also tend to portray civilian politicians as corrupt and
   ineffective. One of the almost universal characteristics of a military
   government is the institution of martial law or a permanent state of
   emergency.

   Although there are exceptions, military regimes usually have little
   respect for human rights and use whatever means necessary to silence
   political opponents. A military regime is also rarely willing to leave
   power unless forced to by popular revolt, whether active or imminent.

   Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East have been common areas for
   military dictatorships. One of the reasons for this is the fact that
   the military often has more cohesion and institutional structure than
   most of the civilian institutions of society.

   Military dictatorships can be contrasted with other forms of
   dictatorship. For example, in most current and historical Communist
   states, the centre of power rests among civilian party officials, and
   very careful measures (such as political commissars and frequent
   rotations) are taken to prevent the military from exercising
   independent authority.

   Since the 1990s, military dictatorships have become less common.
   Reasons for this include the fact that military dictatorships no longer
   have much international legitimacy, as well as the fact that many
   militaries having unsuccessfully ruled many nations are now inclined
   not to become involved in political disputes. Furthermore, the end of
   the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union made it more
   difficult for military regimes to use the threat of communism as
   justification for their actions, or to gain support from foreign
   sources.

   As the Cold War began to wind down, military regimes throughout Latin
   America were replaced with democracies. In the Middle East, regimes
   such as those of Syria and Egypt that were once clearly military
   dictatorships have switched to other forms of despotism.

Cases

   The following lists are probably incomplete, especially before World
   War II

Nations currently under military rule

     * Libya - on September 1, 1969, a group of military officers staged a
       coup, and are still in power
     * Mauritania — on August 3, 2005, the military staged a coup and
       declared a two year transitional military dictatorship; elections
       for a new legislature were conducted on November 20, 2006
     * Myanmar (Burma) - military seized power in 1962.

     * Thailand - on September 19, 2006, the military staged a coup and
       seized power.

Nations with a legacy of military dictatorship(s)

In Africa

     * Algeria (1965-1994)
     * Burkina Faso (1966-1991)
     * Burundi (1966-1993)
     * Central African Republic (1966-1993)
     * Chad (1975-1991)
     * Congo-Brazzaville (1968-1992)
     * Equatorial Guinea (1968-1982)
     * Ethiopia (1974-1991)
     * Gambia, The (1994-1997)
     * Guinea (1984-1991)
     * Ghana (1966-1969; 1972-1979; 1981-1993)
     * Liberia (1980-1990)
     * Madagascar (1972-1975)
     * Mauritania (1978-1992) (2005-present)
     * Niger (1974-1989; 1996-1999)
     * Nigeria (1966-1979; 1983-1999)
     * Sierra Leone (1992-1996; 1997-1998)
     * Somalia (1969-1991; then local militia rule)
     * Sudan (1958-1964; 1969-2005)
     * Uganda (1971-1986)

In the Americas

     * Argentina (1930-1932; 1943-1946; 1955-1958; 1966-1973; 1976-1983)
     * Bolivia (1964-1982)
     * Brazil (1930-1945; 1964-1985)
     * Chile (1973-1990)
     * Colombia (1953-1957)
     * Cuba (1933-1940, 1952-1959)
     * Dominican Republic (1844-1978 with a few exceptions)
     * Ecuador (1963-1966; 1972-1979)
     * El Salvador (1931-1992)
     * Guatemala (1931-1944; 1954-1986)
     * Haiti (1957-1990; 1991-1994)
     * Honduras (1963-1971; 1972-1982)
     * Nicaragua (1936-1979)
     * Panama (1968-1989)
     * Paraguay (1940-1948; 1949-1989)
     * Peru (1948-1956; 1968-1980)
     * Suriname (1980-1988)
     * Uruguay (1973-1985)
     * Venezuela (1952-1958)

In Asia

     * Bangladesh (1975-1979; 1982-1990)
     * Burma (1962-Present)
     * China (1916-1927) (or 1920-1949)
     * Indonesia (1967-1998)
     * Iraq (1958-1968) and (1979-2003)
     * Japan (1940-1945)
     * Pakistan (1958-1971; 1977-1988; 1999-present)
     * South Korea (1961-1979; 1980-1988)
     * Thailand (1938-1992 and 2006-present)

In Europe

     * Commonwealth of England (1648-1659) Dated from Pride's Purge, the
       first major act the army took to control the Parliament to the
       abdication of Lord Protector of Richard Cromwell.
     * Greece (1967-1974)
     * Poland (1981-1983)
     * Portugal (1926-1933)
     * Romania under Ion Antonescu (1941-1944)
     * Spain (1923-1930; 1939-1975)
     * Turkey (1960-1961; 1980-1983)

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_dictatorship"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
