coup [Fr.,=blow], among Native North Americans of the Plains culture, a war honor, awarded for striking an enemy in such a way that it was considered an extreme act of bravery. Generally, coups were awarded according to the degree of difficulty and danger involved; the most extreme, such as striking an armed enemy with the bare hand, counted highest. Killing an enemy, wounding him, scalping him, or stealing his horse or gun—all these were coups of value. Recital of the deeds was an important social function, and a warrior with many coups held a high status and was honored at feasts, ceremonials, and in the tribe. After warfare had ceased, coups became transferable property, passing from the old men to the younger, who needed coups to acquire warrior status in the tribe.

or coup

(French: “stroke of state”) Sudden overthrow, often violent, of an existing government by a group of conspirators. Coups are most common in countries with unstable governments and in countries with little experience of successful democracy. Their success depends on surprise and speed. Coups rarely alter a nation's fundamental social and economic policies or significantly redistribute power. Seealso military government, revolution.

Learn more about coup d'état with a free trial on Britannica.com.

A self-coup or autocoup is a form of coup d'état that occurs when a country's leader dissolves or renders powerless the national legislature and assumes extraordinary powers not granted under normal circumstances. Other measures taken may include annulling the nation's constitution and suspending civil courts. In most cases the head of state is granted dictatorial powers.

One of the best modern examples of the self-coup is elected Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori's takeover of the government on April 5, 1992, ostensibly to exercise absolute authority in annihilating Maoist Shining Path insurgents, though political opponents and journalists were arrested by the military. A historical example was the coup d'état of Charles Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, who granted himself emergency powers and later conducted a referendum in which he became Napoleon III.

Germany offers another example, in Adolf Hitler's infamous Enabling Act, 1933, and the process of Gleichschaltung, consolidating the power of the Nazi party (NSDAP).

List of self-coups

• First Mexican Empire: Emperor Agustín (October 31 1822)
• France: President Charles Louis Napoleon Bonaparte (December 2 1851)
• Brazil: President Deodoro da Fonseca (November 3 1891)
• Mexico: President Gen. Victoriano Huerta (October 7 1913)
• Italy: Prime Minister Benito Mussolini (January 3 1925)
• Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes: King Alexander I (January 6 1929)
• Germany: Chancellor Adolf Hitler (March 23 1933)
• Uruguay: President Gabriel Terra (March 31 1933)
• Estonia: Prime Minister Konstantin Päts (March 12 1934)
• Latvia: Prime Minister Kārlis Ulmanis (May 15 1934)
• Chile: President Arturo Alessandri Palma (February 1936)
• Brazil: President Getúlio Vargas (November 10 1937)
• Bolivia: President Maj. Germán Busch (April 24 1939)
• Paraguay: President Gen. José Félix Estigarribia (February 18 1940)
• Uruguay: President Alfredo Baldomir (February 21 1942)
• Ecuador: President José María Velasco Ibarra (March 30 1946)
• Paraguay: President Higinio Morínigo (January 13 1947)
• Morocco: King Muhammad V (May 20 1960)
• Nepal: King Mahendra (December 15 1960)
• Brunei: Sultan Sir Omar Ali Saifuddin (December 12 1962)
• Morocco: King Hassan II (June 7 1965)
• Uganda: Prime Minister Milton Obote (February 22 and 23, 1966)
• Lesotho: Prime Minister Chief Leabua Jonathan (January 30 1970)
• Ecuador: President José María Velasco Ibarra (June 22 1970)
• Thailand: Prime Minister Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn (November 17 1971)
• Philippines: President Ferdinand Marcos (September 21 1972)
• South Korea: President Park Chung-hee (October 1972)
• Swaziland: King Sobhuza II (April 12 1973)
• Upper Volta: President Gen. Sangoulé Lamizana (February 8 1974)
• Bolivia: President Hugo Banzer (November 7 1974)
• India: Prime Minister Indira Gandhi (June 25 1975)
• Bahrain: Emir Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa (August 26 1975)
• Poland: Prime Minister Wojciech Jaruzelski (December 13 1981)
• Peru: President Alberto Fujimori (April 6, 1992)
• Guatemala: President Jorge Serrano Elías (May 25 1993; failed)
• Russia: President Boris Yeltsin (October 3 1993)
• Lesotho: King Letsie III (August 17 1994)
• Nepal: King Gyanendra (October 4 2002)
• Nepal: King Gyanendra (February 1 2005)
• Pakistan: President Gen. Pervez Musharraf (November 3 2007)

List of self-coups in fiction

• Star Wars Galactic Republic: Palpatine