A junta often comes to power as a result of a coup d'état.[1] The junta may either formally take power as the nation's governing body, with the power to rule by decree, or may exercise power by exercising binding (but informal) control over a nominally civilian government.[3] These two forms of junta rule are sometimes called open rule and disguised rule.[4] Disguised rule may take the form of either civilianization or indirect rule.[4] Civilization occurs when a junta publicly ends its obviously military features, but continues its dominance.[4] For example, the junta may terminate 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.[5] "Indirect rule" involves the junta's exertion of concealed, behind-the-scenes control over a civilian puppet.[4] 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.[4]
Since the 1920s, military juntas have been 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.[3] 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.[3] "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.[3][6]
^ abcdePaul Brooker, Comparative Politics (ed. Daniele Caramani: Oxford University Press, 2014), pp. 101-102.
^Brooker, Non-Democratic Regimes (2d ed.), p. 153.
^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.