Premium
Military regimes: power and force
Author(s) -
O'KANE ROSEMARY H.T.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
european journal of political research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.267
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1475-6765
pISSN - 0304-4130
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-6765.1989.tb00197.x
Subject(s) - politics , power (physics) , military theory , intervention (counseling) , military threat , use of force , military science , political science , political economy , military operation , military personnel , sociology , law , psychology , international law , physics , quantum mechanics , psychiatry
. It is generally held that coups are the start of full military intervention. As a consequence, studies intent on contrasting the performance of ‘military’ as opposed to ‘civilian’ governments have used the event of a military coup as the essential criterion for distinction. The evidence clearly shows, however, that the distinction is not so easily drawn. Further, consideration of the only systematic attempt to delineate types of military regimes in respect of civilian involvement suggests that the dichotomised view of military and civilian regimes should be replaced by attention being drawn to power and force in all political systems. This view is supported by a classification of Third World political systems which reflects these two dimensions. Ironically, the study of military governments installed by coups d'état has actually served to obscure the importance of force in politics.