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How to Sell a Coup: Elections as Coup Legitimation

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  • Sharan Grewal
  • Yasser Kureshi

Abstract

Unlike other political leaders, leaders coming to power through military coups face a dual legitimation challenge: they must justify not only why they should rule but also how they came to power. Little attention has been paid to how coup leaders solve this legitimacy deficit and even less to the audiences of this legitimation. We ask: why do some coup leaders legitimate their coups by holding elections while others do not? Counterintuitively, we argue that coup leaders who oust democratically elected leaders are less likely to hold elections, except when tied to US military aid. We test these hypotheses through a data set of military coup regimes from 1946 to 2014 and trace out mechanisms through case studies of the Nigerian coup of 1983 and the Egyptian coup of 2013. This argument provides a new explanation for the emergence of authoritarian elections and a new perspective on the international dimensions of dictatorship.

Suggested Citation

  • Sharan Grewal & Yasser Kureshi, 2019. "How to Sell a Coup: Elections as Coup Legitimation," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 63(4), pages 1001-1031, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jocore:v:63:y:2019:i:4:p:1001-1031
    DOI: 10.1177/0022002718770508
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Svolik, Milan W., 2015. "Which Democracies Will Last? Coups, Incumbent Takeovers, and the Dynamic of Democratic Consolidation," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 45(4), pages 715-738, October.
    5. Gasiorowski, Mark J., 1995. "Economic Crisis and Political Regime Change: An Event History Analysis," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 89(4), pages 882-897, December.
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