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A military dictatorship (also known as a military junta) is a form of government wherein a military force exerts complete or substantial control over political authority.

A military dictatorship is different from civilian dictatorship for a number of reasons: their motivations for seizing power, the institutions through which they organize their rule and the ways in which they leave power. Often viewing itself as saving the nation from the corrupt or myopic civilian politicians, a military dictatorship justifies its position as "neutral" arbiters on the basis of their membership within the armed forces. For example, many juntas adopt titles such as "Committee of National Restoration", or "National Liberation Committee". Military leaders often rule as a junta, selecting one of themselves as a head.^[1]

Occasionally military dictatorship is called khakistocracy.^[2][3][4] The term is a portmanteau word from khaki and kakistocracy refers to khakis, the tan-green camouflage colour used in most modern army uniforms.

Creation and evolution

Most military dictatorships are formed after a coup d'état has overthrown the previous government.

Military dictatorships may gradually restore significant components of civilian government while the senior military commander still maintains executive political power. In Pakistan, ruling Generals Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (1977–1988) and Pervez Musharraf (1999–2008) have held referendums to elect themselves President of Pakistan for additional terms forbidden by the constitution.

Justification

In the past, military juntas have justified their rule as a way of bringing political stability for the nation or rescuing it from the threat of "dangerous ideologies". For example in Latin America, Africa, and Asia the threat of communism was often used.^{[citation needed]} Military regimes tend to portray themselves as non-partisan, as a "neutral" party that can provide interim leadership in times of turmoil, and also tend to portray civilian politicians as corrupt and ineffective.^{[citation needed]} One of the almost universal characteristics of a military government is the institution of martial law or a permanent state of emergency.^{[citation needed]}

Current cases

Country	Formerly	Military dictatorship adopted	Event
Egypt	Unitary semi presidential republic	July 3, 2013	2013 Egyptian coup d'état
Thailand	Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy	May 22, 2014	2014 Thai coup d'état
Zimbabwe	Unitary dominant party presidential republic	November 21, 2017	2017 Zimbabwean coup d'état

Past cases

Africa

Mengistu Haile Mariam, Aman Mikael Andom and Atnafu Abate, leaders of the Ethiopian military junta

1. 
    Algeria (1965–1976; 1992–1994; 2011)


2. 
    Benin (1963–1964; 1965–1968; 1969–1970; 1972–1975)


3. 
    Burkina Faso (1966–2015)


4. 
    Burundi (1966–1974; 1976–1979; 1987–1992)


5. 
    Central African Republic (1966–1979; 1981–1986; 2003–2005; 2013–2014)


6. 
    Chad (1975–1979; 1982–1989)


7. 
    Ciskei (1990–1994)


8. 
    Comoros (1999–2002)


9. 
    Democratic Republic of the Congo (1965–1971; 1971–1997)


10. 
     Republic of the Congo (1968–1969; 1977–1979)


11. 
     Côte d'Ivoire (1999–2000)


12. 
     Egypt (1953–1956; 2011–2012; 2014–present)


13. 
     Equatorial Guinea (1979–1987)


14. 
     Ethiopia (1974–1987; 2016–2017; 2018)


15. 
     The Gambia (1994–1996)


16. 
     Ghana (1966–1969; 1972–1975; 1975–1979; 1981–1993)


17. 
     Guinea (1984–1990; 2008–2010)


18. 
     Guinea-Bissau (1980–1984; 1999; 2003; April 12, 2012 – May 11, 2012)


19. 
     Lesotho (1986–1993, 2014)


20. 
     Liberia (1980–1986, 1990–1997, 2003–2006)


21. 
     Libya (1969–1977; 1977–2011)


22. 
     Madagascar (1972–1976)


23. 
     Mali (1968–1992; March 21, 2012 – April 12, 2012)


24. 
     Mauritania (1978–1979; 1979–1992; 2005–2007; 2008–2009)


25. 
     Niger (1974–1989; 1996; 1999; 2010–2011)


26. 
     Nigeria (1966–1975; 1975–1979; 1983–1985; 1985–1993; 1993–1998; 1998–1999)


27. 
     Rwanda (1973–1975)


28. 
     Sao Tome and Principe (1995; 2003)


29. 
     Sierra Leone (1967–1968; 1992–1996; 1997–1998)


30. 
     Somalia (1969–1976; 1980–1991)


31. 
     Sudan (1958–1964; 1969–1971; 1985–1986; 1989–1993)


32. 
     Togo (1967–1979)


33. 
     Transkei (1987–1994)


34. 
     Uganda (1971–1979; 1985–1986)


35. 
     Venda (1990–1994)


36. 
     Zimbabwe (2017–present)

North & Central America

1. 
    Costa Rica (1868–1870; 1876–1882; 1917–1919)


2. 
    Cuba (1933; 1952–1959)


3. 
    Dominican Republic (1899; 1930–1961; 1963–1966)


4. 
    El Salvador (1885–1911; 1931–1982)


5. 
    Guatemala (1944–1945; 1954–1957; 1957–1966; 1970–1986)


6. 
    Haiti (1950–1956; 1956–1957; 1986–1990; 1991–1994)


7. 
    Honduras (1956–1957; 1963–1971; 1972–1982; 2009–2010)


8. 
    Mexico (1876; 1877–1880; 1884–1911)


9. 
    Nicaragua (1937–1956; 1967–1979)


10. 
     Panama (1903–1904; 1968–1989)

South America

1. 
    Argentina (1930–1932; 1943–1946; 1955–1958; 1966–1973; 1976–1983)


2. 
    Bolivia (1839–1843; 1848; 1857–1861; 1861; 1864–1872; 1876–1879; 1899; 1920–1921; 1930–1931; 1936–1940; 1946–1947; 1951–1952; 1964–1966; 1970–1979; 1980–1982)


3. 
    Brazil (1889–1894; 1930; 1964–1985)


4. 
    Chile (1924–1925; 1925; 1932; 1973–1990)


5. 
    Colombia (1953–1958)


6. 
    Ecuador (1876–1883; 1935–1938; 1947; 1963–1966; 1972–1979; 2000)


7. 
    Paraguay (1940–1948; 1954–1989)


8. 
    Peru (1842–1844; 1865–1867; 1872; 1879–1881; 1914–1915; 1930–1939; 1948–1956; 1962–1963; 1968–1980; 1992–2000)


9. 
    Suriname (1980–1988)


10. 
     Uruguay (1865–1868; 1876–1879; 1933–1938; 1973–1985)


11. 
     Venezuela (1858–1859; 1859–1861; 1861–1863; 1908–1913; 1922–1929; 1931–1935; 1948–1958)

Asia

1. 
    Bangladesh (1975–1981; 1982–1990)


2. 
    Brunei (1962)


3. 
    Burma (Myanmar) (1962–1974; 1988–2011)


4. 
    Cambodia (1970–1975)


5. 
    Indonesia (1967–1998)


6. 
   Pahlavi Iran (1953–1957; 1978–1979)


7. 
    Iraq (1933–1935; 1937–1938; 1949–1950; 1952–1953; 1958–1963; 1963–1979)


8. 
   Empire of Japan (1940–1945)


9. 
    South Korea (1961–1963, 1980)


10. 
    Kingdom of Laos (1959–1960; 1964)


11. 
    Maldives (1988-1989)


12. 
     Pakistan (1958–1971; 1977–1988; 1999–2008)


13. 
     Philippines (1898, 1972–1981)


14. 
     Syria (1949; 1951–1954; 1961–1972)


15. 
    Republic of China (1912–1949) (1927–1949)/Republic of China (Taiwan) (1949–1987)


16. 
     Thailand (1933; 1947–1948; 1951; 1957; 1958–1969; 1971–1973; 1976–1979; 1991–1992; 2006–2008; 2014–present)


17. 
     South Vietnam (1963–1967)


18. 
     North Yemen (1962–1967; 1974–1982)

Europe

1. 
   Kingdom of Bulgaria (1934–1935; 1944–1946)


2. 
    France (1870–1871)


3. 
   German Empire (1916–1918)


4. 
    Greece (1925–1926; 1967–1974)


5. 
    Poland (1926–1935; 1981–1983)


6. 
    Portugal (1926–1933)


7. 
   Kingdom of Romania (1940–1944)


8. 
   Russian Empire (1918–1920)


9. 
   San Marino (1957)


10. 
     Spain (1923–1930; 1936–1975)


11. 
     Turkey (1960–1961; 1971–1973; 1980–1983)


12. 
    Ukraine (1918)


13. 
    SFR Yugoslavia (1945–1980; 1991–1992)

Oceania

1. 
    Fiji (1987–1999; 2006–2014)

See also

• Military rule (disambiguation)


• Stratocracy


• Films depicting Latin American military dictatorships


• List of political leaders who held active military ranks in office

References