Military junta

A military junta (/ˈhʊntə, ˈdʒʌntə/ ) is a system of government led by a committee of military leaders. The term junta means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the national and local junta organized by the Spanish resistance to Napoleon's invasion of Spain in 1808. The term is now used to refer to an authoritarian form of government characterized by oligarchic military dictatorship, as distinguished from other categories of authoritarian rule, specifically strongman (autocratic military dictatorships); machine (oligarchic party dictatorships); and bossism (autocratic party dictatorships).

The Chilean military junta, led by Augusto Pinochet in March 1986

A junta often comes to power as a result of a coup d'état. The junta may either formally take power as the nation's governing body, with the power to rule by decree, or may wield power by exercising binding (but informal) control over a nominally civilian government. These two forms of junta rule are sometimes called open rule and disguised rule. Disguised rule may take the form of either civilianization or indirect rule. Civilianization occurs when a junta publicly ends its obviously military features but continues its dominance. For example, the junta may terminate the martial law, forgo military uniforms in favor of civilian attire, "colonize" government with former military officers, and make use of political parties or mass organizations. "Indirect rule" involves the junta's exertion of concealed, behind-the-scenes control over a civilian puppet. Indirect rule by the military can include either broad control over the government or control over a narrower set of policy areas, such as military or national security matters.

Throughout the 20th century, military juntas were frequently seen in Latin America, typically in the form of an "institutionalized, highly corporate/professional junta" headed by the commanding officers of the different military branches (army, navy, and air force), and sometimes joined by the head of the national police or other key bodies. Political scientist Samuel Finer, writing in 1988, noted that juntas in Latin America tended to be smaller than juntas elsewhere; the median junta had 11 members, while Latin American juntas typically had three or four. "Corporate" military coups have been distinguished from "factional" military coups. The former are carried out by the armed forces as an institution, led by senior commanders at the top of the military hierarchy, while the latter are carried out by a segment of the armed forces and are often led by mid-ranking officers.

A 2014 study published in the Annual Review of Political Science journal found that military regimes behaved differently from both civilian dictatorships and autocratic military strongmen. A military regime is ruled by a group of high-ranking officers, whereas a military strongman is ruled by a single dictator. The study found that (1) "strongmen and military regimes are more likely to commit human rights abuses and become embroiled in civil wars than are civilian dictatorships"; (2) "military strongmen start more international wars than either military regimes or civilian dictators, perhaps because they have more reason to fear postouster exile, prison, or assassination" and (3) military regimes and civilian dictatorships are more likely to end in democratization, in contrast to the rule of military strongmen, which more often ends by insurgency, popular uprising, or invasion.

Current examples

Africa

•  Burkina Faso – Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration (2022–present)
•  Gabon – Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions (2023–present)
•  Guinea – National Committee of Reconciliation and Development (2021–present)
•  Mali – Transitional Administration (2021–present)
•  Niger – National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (2023–present)
•  Sudan – Transitional Sovereignty Council (2021–present)

Asia

•  Myanmar – State Administration Council (2021–present)

Former examples

Africa

•  Burkina Faso – National Council for Democracy (2015)
•  Chad – Transitional Military Council (2021–2022), Transitional Administration (2022–2024)
•  Egypt – Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (2011–2012)
•  Equatorial Guinea – Supreme Military Council (1979–1982)
•  Ethiopia – Derg (1974–1987)
•  The Gambia – Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (1994–1996)
•  Ghana – National Liberation Council (1966–1969), Supreme Military Council (1975–1979), Provisional National Defence Council (1981–1993)
•  Guinea – Military Committee of National Restoration (1984–1991)
•  Liberia – People's Redemption Council (1980–1984)
•  Libya – Revolutionary Command Council (1969–1977), Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (1977–2011)
•  Mali – Military Committee for National Liberation (1968–1979), National Committee for the Salvation of the People (2020–2021)
•  Mauritania – Military Committee for National Recovery (1978–1979), Military Committee for National Salvation (1979–1992), Military Council for Justice and Democracy (2005–2007), High Council of State (2008–2009)
•  Niger – Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy (2010–2011), National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland since 2023
•  Nigeria – Military juntas (1966–1979 and 1983–1999)
•  Sierra Leone – National Reformation Council (1967–1968)
•  Somalia – Supreme Revolutionary Council (1969–1976)
•  Sudan – National Revolutionary Command Council (1969–1971), Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation (1989–1993), Transitional Military Council (1985–1986), Transitional Military Council (2019)
•  Zaire – Dictatorship of Mobutu Sese Seko (1965–1997)

Americas

•  Argentina – Argentine Revolution (1966–1973), National Reorganization Process (1976–1983)
•  Bolivia – Bolivian military juntas (1861, 1879–1880, 1899, 1920–1921, 1930–1931, 1936–1938, 1943–1944, 1946–1947, 1951–1952, 1964–1966, 1970–1971 and 1980–1982)
•  Brazil – Brazilian military juntas of 1930 and 1969 (part of the wider 1964–1985 military dictatorship)
•  Chile – Government Junta (1973–1990)
•  Colombia – Military Junta (1957–1958)
•  Cuba – Dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista
•  Ecuador – Military Junta (1963), Supreme Council of Government (1976–1979)
•  El Salvador – Civic Directory (1931), Junta of Government (1960–1961), Civic-Military Directory (1961–1962), Revolutionary Government Junta (1979–1982)
•  Guatemala – Junta of the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état
•  Haiti – Junta of the 1991 Haitian coup d'état (1991–1994)
•  Nicaragua – Junta of National Reconstruction (1979–1985)
•  Peru – Military junta (1962–1963), Revolutionary Government of the Armed Forces of Peru (1968–1980)
•  Suriname – National Military Council (1980–1987)
•  Uruguay – Military junta (1973–1985)
•  Venezuela – Military junta (1948–1958)

Asia

•  Bangladesh – Military-backed regime of Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad (1975), military interim government led by Chief Justice Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem (1975–1976) and later Ziaur Rahman (1976–1978), military government of Hussain Muhammad Ershad (1982–1986) and military-backed caretaker government led by Fakhruddin Ahmed (2007–2009)
•  Cambodia – Khmer Republic (1970–1975)
•  China (Republic of) – Temporary Provisions against the Communist Rebellion (1948–1991) used by the Kuomintang after the fall of mainland China to the Communists^{[citation needed]}
•  Indonesia – Military government of Suharto, also known as the New Order (1966–1998)
•  Iraq – Sovereignty Council (1958–1963)
•  Japan – Shogunate period (1185–1868)
•  Myanmar – Union Revolutionary Council (1962–1974), State Peace and Development Council (1988–2011)
•  Pakistan – Military governments of Ayub Khan (1958–1969), Yahya Khan (1969–1971), Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (1977–1988) and Pervez Musharraf (1999–2008)
•  South Korea – Military governments of Park Chung Hee (1962–1979, initially as the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction) and Chun Doo-hwan (1980–1988)
•  Syria – National Council for the Revolutionary Command (1963–1966)
•  Thailand – National Peace Keeping Council (1991–1992), Council for National Security (2006–2008), National Council for Peace and Order (2014–2019)

Europe

•  Bulgaria – Junta of the 1934 Bulgarian coup d'état (1934–1935)
•  France – Bonapartist rule in France (1799–1815), Government of Vichy France (1940–1945)
•  Georgia – Military Council of the Republic of Georgia (1992)
•  Greece – Regime of the Colonels, officially the "Revolutionary Committee" (1967–1974)
•  Poland – Military Council of National Salvation (1981–1983)
•  Portugal – National Salvation Junta (1974–1975)
•  Spain – Francoist Spain (1939–1975)
•  Turkey – National Unity Committee (1960–1961), Council for National Security (1980–1983)
•  United Kingdom – The Protectorate (1653–1660)

Oceania

•  Fiji – Military government of Frank Bainimarama (2006–2014)

See also

• Civilian control of the military
• Civil–military relations
• Stratocracy

References

1. Turkey is a part of both Europe and Asia

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5. Brooker, Non-Democratic Regimes (2d ed.), p. 153.
6. David Kuehn, "Democratic Control of the Military" in Handbook of the Sociology of the Military (eds. Giuseppe Caforio & Marina Nuciari: Springer, 2nd ed.), p. 164.
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