In the last 11 years, 10 successful coup d’états have been staged throughout the world most of which occurred in Africa. When it comes to frequency, Thailand tops the global list in the last decade.
Many Thais were taken by surprise when soldiers and tanks again appeared on the streets of Bangkok on 19 September 2006 to oust the democratically elected Thaksin Shinawatra administration. After the promulgation of the 1997 Constitution, Thailand was viewed as a beacon of democracy in mainland Southeast Asia, and most people never thought that the military would intervene in Thai politics again. But the vicious cycle of coups recurred on 22 May 2014 when Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha staged a coup against Yingluck Shinawatra's administration, making it the 13th successful coup in Thailand’s political history.
The research by Jonathan Powell of the University of Central Florida and Clayton Thyne of the University of Kentucky defines coup d’état as illegal and overt attempts by the military or other elites within the state apparatus to unseat the sitting executive. According to the reported ‘Map: The world of coups since 1950’ published in the Washington Post of 22 July 2016 base on the research of the two, from 1950 to 2016 there were 475 coup attempts worldwide, 236 of which were successful. Since the end of the Cold War in 1991, the number of coups d’état has fallen significantly, with 91 attempts, 39 of which were successful.
Prachatai found that from 2006 to 2016 there were 30 coup attempts worldwide, not including 29 aborted coups, but only 10 were successful, two of which occurred in Thailand in 2006 and 2014. Other countries with successful coups in the last 11 years are: Fiji (2006), Bangladesh (2007), Mauritania (2008), Guinea (2008), Niger (2010), Mali (2012), Guinea-Bissau (2012) and Egypt (2013).
Coup d’état worldwide in the last 11 years: (1) successful coup, (2) coup attempts, (3) preparation for coup
Country | Month | Date | Year | Type | Coup-maker |
Philippines | 2 | 24 | 2006 | 3 | Gregorio Honasan |
Burundi | 3 | 6 | 2006 | 3 | unspecified |
Chad | 3 | 15 | 2006 | 3 | unspecified |
Gambia | 3 | 21 | 2006 | 3 | Col. Ndure Cham, Abdulaye Kujaby, Tamsir Jassy, Alieu Jobe |
Guinea | 4 | 4 | 2006 | 2 | Prime Minister Cellon Dalein Diallo |
Chad | 4 | 13 | 2006 | 2 | rebel forces |
Mauritania | 6 | 9 | 2006 | 3 | Col. Abderramane Ould Lekour, Sid Mohammed Ould Faida, Mohammed Ould Aly |
Thailand | 9 | 19 | 2006 | 1 | Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratglin |
Fiji | 12 | 5 | 2006 | 1 | Commodore Frank Bainimarama |
Bangladesh | 1 | 11 | 2007 | 1 | Chief of Army Staff Lt-Gen. Moeen U. Ahmed; Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed; Maj-Gen. M.A. Matin |
Laos | 6 | 4 | 2007 | 3 | Gen. Vang Pao (arrested in USA) |
Sudan | 7 | 14 | 2007 | 3 | Mubarak al-Fadhil al-Mahdi; Maj-Gen (retd) Ma'sh Muhammed Ali Hamid; Abd-al-Jalil al-Basha |
Fiji | 11 | 3 | 2007 | 3 | Ratu Inoke Takiveikata; Col. Metuisela Mua; Barbadoes Mills |
Philippines | 11 | 29 | 2007 | 2 | Antonio Trillanes; Brig-Gen. Danilo Lim |
Chad | 2 | 2 | 2008 | 2 | Mahamat Nouri (UFDD); Timane Erdini (RFC); Abdelwahid Aboud Mackaye |
East Timor | 2 | 11 | 2008 | 2 | Maj. Alfredo Reinado; Gastao Salsinha |
Sudan | 5 | 10 | 2008 | 2 | Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) |
Malawi | 5 | 13 | 2008 | 3 | Gen. Joseph Chimbayo; Joseph Aironi; John Chikakwiya; Kennedy Makwangwala |
Mauritania | 8 | 6 | 2008 | 1 | Gen. Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz |
Guinea-Bissau | 8 | 8 | 2008 | 2 | Rear Adm. Jose Americo Bubo Na Tchute |
Guinea-Bissau | 11 | 23 | 2008 | 2 | Alexandre Tchama Yala |
Guinea | 12 | 23 | 2008 | 1 | Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara |
Equatorial Guinea | 2 | 11 | 2009 | 2 | Jose Abeso Nsue; Manuel Ndong Anseme; Alipio Ndong Asumu; Jacinto Micha Obiang |
Togo | 4 | 12 | 2009 | 3 | Kpatche Gnassingbe |
Bolivia | 4 | 16 | 2009 | 3 | Sanchez de Lozada, Carlos Sanchez Barzain, Jorge Berindoague Alcocer |
Lesotho | 4 | 23 | 2009 | 2 | unspecified; South African and Mozambiquan mercenaries |
Guinea | 4 | 24 | 2009 | 3 | Lt-Col. Aboubacar Sidiki Camara; Adml. Aly Daffe; Capt. Saa Alphonse Toure; Capt. Abdoulaye Keita |
Ethiopia | 4 | 25 | 2009 | 3 | Brig-Gen. Asamnew Tsige; Berhanu Nega, Ginbot 7 Movement |
Georgia | 5 | 5 | 2009 | 2 | Maj. Ghvaladze; Mukhrovani Tank Battalion |
Guinea-Bissau | 6 | 4 | 2009 | 2 | Helder Proenca, Baciro Dabo |
Gambia | 11 | 21 | 2009 | 3 | ex-army chief Lang Tombong Tamba and seven others |
Burundi | 1 | 29 | 2010 | 3 | unspecified (13 soldiers arrested) |
Niger | 2 | 18 | 2010 | 1 | Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy (CSRD); Maj. Salou Djibo |
Gambia | 3 | 18 | 2010 | 3 | Gen. Yankuba Drammeh; Rear Adm. Sarjo Fofona; Ensa Badjie |
Guinea-Bissau | 4 | 1 | 2010 | 2 | Gen.Antonio Indjai |
Cameroon | 7 | 17 | 2010 | 3 | unspecified |
Ecuador | 9 | 30 | 2010 | 2 | Disgruntled police officers |
Niger | 10 | 14 | 2010 | 3 | Col. Abdoulaye Badie; Col. Abdou Sidikou; 2 others |
Madagascar | 11 | 17 | 2010 | 2 | Gen. Noel Rakotonandrasana; Col. Charles Andrianasoavavna; Raymond Ranjeva |
D. R. Congo (Zaire) | 2 | 27 | 2011 | 2 | unspecified |
Niger | 7 | 12 | 2011 | 3 | unspecified |
Guinea | 7 | 19 | 2011 | 2 | Former senior army officers |
Guinea-Bissau | 12 | 26 | 2011 | 2 | Rear Adm. Jose Americo Bubo Na Tchute |
Bangladesh | 1 | 19 | 2012 | 3 | Maj. Ziaul Haq; Lt.Col. Ehsan Yusuf; Maj. Rakir; Hizbut-Tahrir |
Papua New Guinea | 1 | 26 | 2012 | 2 | Michael Somare |
Mali | 3 | 21 | 2012 | 1 | Capt. Amadou Haya Sanogo |
Malawi | 4 | 5 | 2012 | 3 | Peter Mutharika; Bright Msaka; Goodall Gondwe; and other government officials |
Guinea-Bissau | 4 | 12 | 2012 | 1 | Gen. Antonio Indjai |
Mali | 4 | 30 | 2012 | 2 | "Red Beret" presidential guard troops |
Cote d'Ivoire | 6 | 8 | 2012 | 3 | exiled military |
Guinea-Bissau | 10 | 21 | 2012 | 2 | Capt. Pansau N'Tchama |
Sudan-North | 11 | 22 | 2012 | 3 | Lt.Gen. Salah Abdallah Gosh |
South Africa | 12 | 18 | 2012 | 3 | four white supremacists |
Eritrea | 1 | 21 | 2013 | 2 | c200 mutinous soldiers |
Benin | 2 | 22 | 2013 | 3 | Col. Pamphile Zamahoun; Johannes Dagnon |
Comoros | 4 | 22 | 2013 | 3 | Mahmoud Ahmed Abdallah, Patrick Klein |
Chad | 5 | 1 | 2013 | 3 | Gen. Weiddig Assi Assoue; Gen. Ngomine Beadmadji David; Mahamat Malloum; Saleh Makki |
Egypt | 7 | 3 | 2013 | 1 | Gen. Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi |
South Sudan | 12 | 15 | 2013 | 2 | Riek Machar |
Central African Rep. | 12 | 26 | 2013 | 2 | Christian "anti-Balaka" militias |
D. R. Congo (Zaire) | 12 | 30 | 2013 | 2 | Pastor Joseph Mukungubila Mutombo |
Thailand | 5 | 22 | 2014 | 1 | General Prayuth Chan-ocha |
Lesotho | 8 | 30 | 2014 | 2 | Lt. Gen. Tlali Kamoli |
Gambia | 12 | 30 | 2014 | 2 | Lamin Sanneh; Cherno Njie |
Burundi | 5 | 13 | 2015 | 2 | Maj. Gen. Godefroid Niyombare |
Burkina Faso | 9 | 16 | 2015 | 2 | Gen. Gilbert Diendéré;Presidential Security Regiment |
Niger | 12 | 18 | 2015 | 3 | senior military officers |
Turkey | 7 | 15 | 2016 | 2 | Gulenists |
Montenegro | 10 | 16 | 2016 | 3 | twenty ethnic-Serbs |
