Sometimes I found people who I was talking to and their coup happened after an elected leader became less democratic. They could very convincingly tell me that their coup was in response to those actions. Then I'd find out that they started plotting the coup years in advance or entertaining it when the situation was very different.

Naunihal Singh

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A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.

Naunihal Singh is associate professor in the Department of National Security Affairs at the U.S. Naval War College and the author of Seizing Power: The Strategic Logic of Military Coups (2014). He recently wrote the article "The Myth of the Coup Contagion" in the Journal of Democracy.

Key Highlights

• Introduction - 0:43
• Brief History of Coups - 3:11
• Anti-Coup Norm - 10:33
• Conditions for a Coup - 18:33
• Reinforcing the Anti-Coup Norm - 35:53

The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Navy, Department of Defense, or U.S. Government.

Key Links

"The Myth of the Coup Contagion" by Naunihal Singh in the Journal of Democracy

Seizing Power: The Strategic Logic of Military Coups by Naunihal Singh

Learn more about Naunihal Singh

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