Introduction
INTRODUCTION
PURPOSE OF THE MANUAL IN THE CONTEXT OF WORLDWIDE COUP D’ETATS
The purpose of this manual is to help trainers run well-designed workshops to prepare citizens in effective nonviolent methods of defending their governments and their institutions against coup d’états.
The phrase “coup d’état” is from the French, “blow against the state.” It refers to the sudden, forcible overthrow of a government by a group plotting against it. Governments have been shaken or forcibly brought down since time immemorial. Our era is no exception.
In the famous “beer-hall putsch” of 1923, Adolf Hitler attempted to depose the republican government of Bavaria. Within a decade, the world was embroiled in a cataclysmic war between totalitarianism and allies espousing freedom and democracy.
Seventy years later, on November 17, 1993, General Sani Abacha and his military confederates ousted the civilian government of Ernest Shonekan in Nigeria. The next day, the general announced that he was installing himself as ruler, dissolving virtually every democratic institution in Nigeria, forbidding any political gatherings, banning political parties, replacing civilian officials with military commanders and running the country as a police state. With one stroke, he effectively dismantled a decade of Nigerian progress toward a system of elected government.
In the seven decades between Hitler and Abacha, plotters have organized successful coups in over half of the world’s sovereign states. In a few cases, democratic forces have used coups to put an end to repressive regimes. In many others, however, nascent democracies have been snuffed out and replaced by military dictatorships or other un-democratic cabals. Some examples of countries experiencing post-World War II coups are:
Algeria Ethiopia Panama Argentina Greece Paraguay Azerbaijan Guatemala Poland Burma Haiti South Korea Bolivia Honduras Sudan Chile Indonesia Soviet Union Ceylon Cuba Iraq Czechoslovakia Lebanon Thailand Dahomey Liberia Turkey Egypt Nicaragua Uganda El Salvador Nigeria Venezuela Ecuador Pakistan Vietnam Laos Syria Tanzania
Here in the mid-1990’s, the movement towards democracy seems to be gaining strength. However, shaky new democracies around the world are threatened by anti-democratic forces. Supporters of these fledgling democracies want to know how to defend governments “of the people, by the people, and for the people” against the forces that would sweep them aside.
The good news is that powerful nonviolent means of resisting coups are available. In significant instances, supporters of democracy have used nonviolent methods effectively to resist attempted take-overs by usurpers. This manual attempts to learn from this important experience and pass it on to others.
ADVANTAGES OF NONVIOLENT STRUGGLE IN BUILDING DEMOCRACY
In using nonviolent action, one is able to build and defend democracy within institutions. It is a way to fight for democracy with democratic means. The means are inherent in the ends. This gives nonviolent ways of resisting coups a strong advantage over military methods. In the latter approach, centralized, top-down decision-making by the military hierarchy trains people in authoritarian mentalities rather than participatory democracy. Military means can undercut democratic ends. Nonviolent struggle also contributes to a democratic spirit by its refusal to kill opponents and its commitment to building community. This basic attitude mirrors democracy’s profound respect for human dignity. It contrasts sharply with the military approaches that necessarily depend on killing or threatening to kill enemies. After the battle for control of government is over, the two sides, which normally are part of the same nation or state, have to find a way to live together. If they have been trying to physically destroy one another, the hatred set loose can undercut the task of building a common civil society. If, on the other hand, one side has been stressing goodwill, non-retaliation, and the goal of what Dr. Martin Luther King called “the beloved community,” then that community of mutual respect becomes more attainable.
THE NEED FOR KNOWLEDGE AND TRAINING
Often nonviolent defense against coups has been spontaneous and not rooted in careful study and preparation. The success of such ad hoc defense gives hope that a more careful and systematic approach can provide even stronger resistance against the coups. As people learn the methods of effective nonviolent struggle, they will make it increasingly difficult for plotters to smash their hard-won democratic gains. If citizens worldwide grow in their knowledge of nonviolent means of defense and become competent in its methods through training, the time may come when coups against democratic governments will be a thing of the past. This manual is one attempt to spread this knowledge and promote this training. It is a working document, not the final word. Please give the author and/or Nonviolence International feedback on how you think it can be improved. We plan to publish revised editions over time.
Author
Richard K. Taylor
609 East Allens Lane
Philadelphia, PA 19119
Nonviolence International
P.O. Box 39127
4000 Albemarle, Suite #401 NW
Washington, DC 20016
HOW THE MANUAL IS ORGANIZED
The rationale behind the manual is that participants must first understand what a coup is and how it operates. Only then can they organize to defeat it. Therefore, the manual begins by describing the nature of the coup d’état (Session II), then deals with how to organize nonviolent resistance to defeat it.
NOTE TO TRAINERS WHO USE THIS MANUAL
The manual has a logical flow, with the information in the early chapters laying the basis for the latter. However, there is nothing sacrosanct about the manual’s organization or its contents. It is written as a general guide, knowing that you may need to modify it. Please feel free to use those parts that are most appropriate to your local reality and to put aside what does not seem helpful. Since you may not be familiar with all the training methods or exercises used in the manual, I strongly suggest that you read it carefully from beginning to end before trying to use it in a real-life training session. You also will find it helpful, I think, to tryout some of the exercises on a smaller group before using them in a larger training context. If the training is done by a training team (which I strongly recommend) rather than by an individual trainer, then that team, along with a few sympathizers, would be a good group to use for a “test run” of the exercises and training methods. Good luck, and let us know your experience in using the manual.
