Tales of the Coups

Kidnappings, air strikes and coercive decision-making 

We live in an ever complex world, where the basics in essence remain the same; only the forms have changed. We no longer communicate through meticulously handwritten letters or talk in person through the call booked through international or local exchange, or text via telegramme. Today, poems scribbled on a piece of paper have been replaced by WhatsApp text or a call; where blocking means break-up, and toleration means the other way round.

Quick information can be a SIM based SMS or the App based text or voice note. Yesterday’s wars, with mutilation of the war dead through the hooves of horses, have now been replaced by highly explosive material which leaves little intact for proper and decent identification of the departed soul mortal remains.

As the world waits for new surprises in the unipolar world, that truth goes without saying that the intervention in the developing polities by the developed world has reached new highs. The POTUS stature has gone to the level that, an action in 1953, which was owned by the US state after decades, is now owned, by supporting a similar move in June 2025 via IDF and again in January 2026 via MOSSAD. The world is an unsafe place if the unipolar status as prevalent today is not challenged in an assertive manner; failing which such ‘coups’ will be the order of the day, regretfully

Likewise, the arms twisting methodologies of the powerful of the world have been replaced by sophisticated diplomatic games and backdoor intervention into the political processes through military personnel in contacts via military exchange programmes and joint exercises. Even when the abovementioned channels are not available or are not conducive enough for the coercive party, direct-threat regime can be the way out. To say the least, these sophisticated models have been used with impunity in the Middle East, West Asia and in The South Asian sub-continent, as and when the situation has arrived or cropped up.

Before taking a plunge into the past trends and their devastating impact on the individual and particular nation state polity, economy and society, it is imperative to note that how things have changed to the point where within the current scenarios, such things have happened, where the governments in totality have not been uprooted or dislodged, neither the government in particular has been overthrown like the proverbial Mughal dynasty, nor the enemy forces have marched in black and white, but whatever is happening is in the soft mode.

The Venezuelan drama, a few decades back might have needed a complete annexation of the country, complete destruction of the military assets as well as possible killing of the head of state, a proper change of government and finally the desired outcome of the invading army or the entity. The overthrow and killing of Chilean left wing president Salvador Allende by the pro-US Army Chief Gen Augusto Pinochet in 1973 were a complete coup, with Chilean army units and Chilean Air force bombing the Presidential residence to make sure that the ‘job was done’. Fast forward to Caracas. Now, the air defence of the Venezuelan capital seemed compromised, with no air force jets in the air, which could have dealt with the streams of Apache and Chinooks invading the national air space; but the deal was already in place.

They were supposed to look the other way when the US forces were to kidnap their commander-in-chief in the dark of night. Apparently, the constitution was in force in the country, no parliament was dissolved or even bombed. The parliament kept mum over what can be called a transgression into the affairs of the state by the invading air force, but there were no reactions, except for the few street protests. One month on, there seems to be business as usual in the Venezuelan capital Caracas as if nothing has happened.

Now move to New Delhi, where apparently the Lok Sabha calls the shots in all the legislature related measures, the IAF continues with its drills over its war gaming scenarios with Pakistan and China, now also adding Bangladesh as a potential adversary. Yet it cannot be the strength of the ‘proud’ Indian nation state when it comes to choosing this product from that source or being forced to buy a product from a source, whose annexation is itself an ownership related ‘legal risk’. In plain words, Indians cannot buy Russian oil of their own will and have been forcibly asked to forego that to buy US supplied petroleum, whose supply origin, the market sources have already spilled the beans rest with US oil magnates working in the recently annexed Venezuela.

These two instances illustrate how the coup in Iran against Dr Mossadeq in 1953 was a much more ‘naked’ act as compared to what happened in the South American country and a few weeks later, how a South Asian country was forced to bow down. A country known for honourably courting the big powers during the cold war days was subject to a ‘Coup’ of sorts, where the key decisionmaking bypassed the parliament, no one in the Federation of Indian Industries knew about the bombshell and the general public was treated to the news, the morning after. In that coup, there were no military units to be seen around the West Block or the East Block, in New Delhi. 

Similar things have happened elsewhere too, where the constitution apparently has not been held in abeyance, but the man in the street and the visiting dignitaries know who calls the shots or can influence the turn of the events. While in the case of Caracas, few people had to be put on the board discreetly to make sure that the job is  done, elsewhere, the military exchange programmes and other channels of military-to-military contacts have made it quite easy for the interested parties or the international players to move the ‘foot soldier’, or pawn in chess, when such a move is required.

The Pentagon plans as of now do not depend regretfully on above the table diplomatic deals with the elected governments or dispensations, these deals still depend upon the under-the-table ‘understandings’ or ‘deals’ with personnel who seem to understand them, and they understand the individual or individuals. In fact the democratic Nezam which can bring people on to the street to defeat the repeat on 1953 Coup in August 1953 in Tehran are subject to a media barrage, which can make anyone believe in sincerity that the fall of such a democratic polity is the need of the hour; the regime change project in Iran as projected in the west-leaning media.

Going forward, the disruption in the political systems around the world, the interference of the world powers in an unceremonious manner all indicates that the norms of nation state as well as the principles of diplomatic preserving are gone and arm twisting is the new normal regretfully.

For the tales of the coups, political infighting might not be the only necessary ingredient, outside influence can be the important factor. It is also not necessary that the ‘Coup” is played out in totality; the needed decision can be the only thing sought, in the first place. 

As the world waits for new surprises in the unipolar world, that truth goes without saying that the intervention in the developing polities by the developed world has reached new highs. The POTUS stature has gone to the level that, an action in 1953, which was owned by the US state after decades, is now owned, by supporting a similar move in June 2025 via IDF and again in January 2026 via MOSSAD. The world is an unsafe place if the unipolar status as prevalent today is not challenged in an assertive manner; failing which such ‘coups’ will be the order of the day, regretfully.