Coup d'etat Definition: French: an often violent, always sudden and unlawful replacement of an existing government. Related Terms: Revolution, Civil War, War Spelled coup d'état but often rendered without the acute accent on the e as in coup d'etat. James Fox suggests this definition:"Blow to the state; revolutionary or military overthrow of a government with the formation of a new government."Cleveland-Marshall College of Law professor Tayyab Mahmud described the coup d'etat as successful treason and adopts this definition:"... a change in government (which) issues from the threat or use of force against the incumbent regime ... a sudden, forceful stroke in politics; especially, the sudden, forcible overthrow of a government."Aka, putsch.REFERENCES: Fox, James, Dictionary of International and Comparative Law, 3rd Ed. (New York: Oceana Publications Inc., 2003), page 73Luttwak, E., Coup d'état: A Practical Handbook (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1979Mahmud, Tayyab, Jurisprudence of Successful Treason: Coup d'Etat and Common Law, 27 Cornell Int'l L. J. 49 (1994) Categories & Topics: Constitutional, Human Rights and Administrative Law Dictionary International Law Dictionary Military Law Dictionary Find you are constantly looking up definitions? Try our search provider (works in most modern browsers) If you find an error or omission in Duhaime's Legal Dictionary, or if you have legal term suggestion, we'd love to hear from you!