In an NYT article about events in Ukraine, there is this sentence, "[Yanukovich's] removal from office was hailed in western Ukraine as a revolution, but in the historically pro-Russian regions, it was angrily labeled a coup."
I understand the idea of a palace coup, but how would these two words differ in this situation. Is it not six of one half dozen of the other? What am I missing here?
Revolution v. Coup
- Slava
- Great Grand Panjandrum
- Posts: 8092
- Joined: Thu Sep 28, 2006 9:31 am
- Location: Finger Lakes, NY
Revolution v. Coup
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.
-
- Great Grand Panjandrum
- Posts: 3333
- Joined: Wed Jan 03, 2007 12:41 pm
- Location: RUSTON, LA
- Contact:
Re: Revolution v. Coup
In my head, a coup is a smaller takeover of the government, often by a cabal with military or police support. Revolution engulfs a whole country in a civil war or something close to it.
pl
Re: Revolution v. Coup
Revolution: a situation in which people completely change their government or political system, usually by force
coup or coup d'état: an occasion when a group of people takes control of a country, usually by means of military force
Comparing these definitions (from the lookup function on the Alpha Dictionary top page), we see
Revolution: People;
Coup: Group of people
So a revolution is an act by the people as a whole while a coup is an act by a subset of the people
Revolution: change the government or political system;
Coup: take control of a country
So a revolution is about changing the government/political system while a coup is about controlling the country
Revolution: by force;
Coup: by military force
So a revolution is by a generalized force not necessarily including the military while a coup usually includes the military
So back to the Ukraine: The western Ukraine viewed the event as a change in the political system brought about by the people as a whole without the assistance of the military while the pro-Russian regions viewed the event as a small group of (Ukrainian speaking) people taking control of the country by force
coup or coup d'état: an occasion when a group of people takes control of a country, usually by means of military force
Comparing these definitions (from the lookup function on the Alpha Dictionary top page), we see
Revolution: People;
Coup: Group of people
So a revolution is an act by the people as a whole while a coup is an act by a subset of the people
Revolution: change the government or political system;
Coup: take control of a country
So a revolution is about changing the government/political system while a coup is about controlling the country
Revolution: by force;
Coup: by military force
So a revolution is by a generalized force not necessarily including the military while a coup usually includes the military
So back to the Ukraine: The western Ukraine viewed the event as a change in the political system brought about by the people as a whole without the assistance of the military while the pro-Russian regions viewed the event as a small group of (Ukrainian speaking) people taking control of the country by force
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 42 guests