Coup-Proofing

Its Practice and Consequences in the Middle East

James T. Quinlivan

ResearchPublished Jan 4, 2000

A number of Middle Eastern states — e.g., Iraq, Syria, and Saudi Arabia — seem to be "coup-proof." That is, their regimes have created structures that minimize the possibility that a small group can seize power. These include effectively exploiting family, ethnic, and religious loyalties; creation of an armed force parallel to the regular military; development of multiple internal security agencies with overlapping jurisdiction that constantly monitor one another; fostering of expertness in the regular military; and adequately financing such measures. The regime is thus able to create an army that is effectively larger than one drawn solely from trustworthy segments of the population. These measures, however, lessen the states' usable military power. Nonetheless, Iraq has demonstrated the ability of a coup-proofed regime to survive despite overwhelming military defeat. Key surviving military and security elements, their loyalty to the regime, and their organized firepower won out over the poorly armed civilians and broken military units that opposed them following Iraq's defeat in the Gulf War.

Topics

Document Details

  • Copyright: President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Publisher: MIT Press
  • Availability: Out Of Print
  • Year: 1999
  • Paperback Pages: 5
  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.7249/RP844
  • Document Number: RP-844

Research conducted by

Originally published in: International Security, v. 24, no. 2, Fall 1999, pp. 131-165.

This publication is part of the RAND reprint series. The reprint series, a product of RAND from 1992 to 2011, included previously published journal articles, book chapters, and reports that were reproduced by RAND with the permission of the publisher. RAND reprints were formally reviewed in accordance with the publisher's editorial policy and compliant with RAND's rigorous quality assurance standards for quality and objectivity. For select current RAND journal articles, see external publications.

This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.

RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.