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114-610: The highway was opened to traffic in November 1965 to link the harbour city of Tema to Accra. It was built under the administration of Kwame Nkrumah , the first president of Ghana. Its construction was fashioned after the Autobahn in Germany and was purposed to be the first in motorway systems that would link major towns and cities in Ghana. A major problem that existed on the motorway and still exists

228-650: A pronunciamiento , in which the military deposes the existing government and hands over power to a new, ostensibly civilian government. A "barracks revolt" or cuartelazo is another type of military revolt, from the Spanish term cuartel ('quarter' or 'barracks'), in which the mutiny of specific military garrisons sparks a larger military revolt against the government. Other types of actual or attempted seizures of power are sometimes called "coups with adjectives". The appropriate term can be subjective and carries normative, analytical, and political implications. While

342-470: A constitutional amendment made Ghana a one-party state , with Nkrumah as president for life of both the nation and its party. He fostered a personality cult , forming ideological institutes and adopting the title of 'Osagyefo Dr.' Nkrumah was deposed in 1966 in a coup d'état by the National Liberation Council , under whose supervision the country's economy was privatized. Nkrumah lived

456-462: A coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is when a leader, having come to power through legal means, tries to stay in power through illegal means. By one estimate, there were 457 coup attempts from 1950 to 2010, half of which were successful. Most coup attempts occurred in the mid-1960s, but there were also large numbers of coup attempts in

570-558: A general strike to begin on 8 January 1950. The strike quickly led to violence, and Nkrumah and other CPP leaders were arrested on 22 January, and the Evening News was banned. Nkrumah was sentenced to a total of three years in prison, and he was incarcerated with common criminals in Accra's Fort James . Nkrumah's assistant, Komla Agbeli Gbedemah , ran the CPP in his absence; the imprisoned leader

684-464: A pan-Africanist culture. Under Nkrumah, Ghana played a leading role in African international relations during the decolonization period. After multiple failed attempts on his life, coupled with increasingly difficult local economic conditions, Nkrumah's government became authoritarian in the 1960s, as he repressed political opposition and conducted elections that were not free and fair. In 1964,

798-572: A "reasonable majority" took the CPP's position, Britain would set a date for independence. The results of the July 1956 election were almost identical to those from four years before, and on 3 August the assembly voted for independence under the name Nkrumah had proposed in April, Ghana . In September, the Colonial Office announced independence day would be 6 March 1957. The opposition was not satisfied with

912-613: A coup is usually a conspiracy of a small group, a revolution or rebellion is usually started spontaneously by larger groups of uncoordinated people. The distinction between a revolution and a coup is not always clear. Sometimes, a coup is labelled as a revolution by its plotters to feign democratic legitimacy. According to Clayton Thyne and Jonathan Powell's coup data set, there were 457 coup attempts from 1950 to 2010, of which 227 (49.7%) were successful and 230 (50.3%) were unsuccessful. They find that coups have "been most common in Africa and

1026-418: A coup. A 2019 study found that states that had recently signed civil war peace agreements were much more likely to experience coups, in particular when those agreements contained provisions that jeopardized the interests of the military. Research suggests that protests spur coups, as they help elites within the state apparatus to coordinate coups. A 2019 study found that regional rebellions made coups by

1140-569: A coup. The authors of the study provide the following logic for why this is: Autocratic incumbents invested in spatial rivalries need to strengthen the military in order to compete with a foreign adversary. The imperative of developing a strong army puts dictators in a paradoxical situation: to compete with a rival state, they must empower the very agency—the military—that is most likely to threaten their own survival in office. However, two 2016 studies found that leaders who were involved in militarized confrontations and conflicts were less likely to face

1254-511: A crop, were being destroyed by the colonial authorities. There were about 63,000 World War II veterans in the Gold Coast, many of whom had trouble obtaining employment and felt the colonial government was doing nothing to address their grievances. Nkrumah and Danquah addressed a meeting of the Ex-Service men's Union in Accra on 20 February 1948, which was made in advance of a planned march to present

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1368-577: A federal, rather than a unitary government for an independent Gold Coast, and for an upper house of parliament where chiefs and other traditional leaders could act as a counter to the CPP majority in the assembly. They drew considerable support in the Northern Territory and among the chiefs in Ashanti, who petitioned the British queen, Elizabeth II , asking for a Royal Commission into what form of government

1482-839: A fixed succession rule being much less plagued by instability than less institutionalized autocracies. A 2014 study of 18 Latin American countries in the 20th-century study found the legislative powers of the presidency does not influence coup frequency. A 2019 study found that when a country's politics is polarized and electoral competition is low, civilian-recruited coups become more likely. A 2023 study found that civilian elites are more likely to be associated with instigating military coups while civilians embedded in social networks are more likely to be associated with consolidating military coups. A 2017 study found that autocratic leaders whose states were involved in international rivalries over disputed territory were more likely to be overthrown in

1596-568: A full member of the Commonwealth of Nations with effect from 6 March. Ghana became independent on 6 March 1957 as the Dominion of Ghana . As the first of Britain's African colonies to gain majority-rule independence, the celebrations in Accra were the focus of world attention; over 100 reporters and photographers covered the events. United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent congratulations and his vice president, Richard Nixon , to represent

1710-601: A government. Nkrumah had stolen Arden-Clarke's secretary Erica Powell after she was dismissed and sent home for getting too close to Nkrumah. Powell returned to Ghana in January 1955 to be Nkrumah's private secretary, a position she held for ten years. Powell was very close to him and during their time together she largely wrote Nkrumah's (auto)biography, although this was not admitted until much later. Nkrumah faced several challenges as he assumed office. He had never served in government, and needed to learn that art. The Gold Coast

1824-512: A greater consultation of regional and local-specific sources. Successful coups are one method of regime change that thwarts the peaceful transition of power . A 2016 study categorizes four possible outcomes to coups in dictatorships : The study found that about half of all coups in dictatorships—both during and after the Cold War—install new autocratic regimes. New dictatorships launched by coups engage in higher levels of repression in

1938-659: A guest preacher in Presbyterian churches in Philadelphia and New York. In 1939, Nkrumah enrolled at Lincoln's seminary and at the Ivy League institution, the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and in 1942, he was initiated into the Mu chapter of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity at Lincoln University. Nkrumah gained a Bachelor of Theology degree from Lincoln in 1942, the top student in

2052-517: A lingering effect on the rest of his life." Nkrumah had sought entry to Lincoln University some time before he began his studies there. On Friday, 1 March 1935, he sent the school a letter noting that his application had been pending for more than a year. When he arrived in New York in October 1935, he traveled to Pennsylvania, where he enrolled despite lacking the funds for the full semester . He soon won

2166-786: A major threat to dictators. The Harem conspiracy of the 12th century BC was one of the earliest. Palace coups were common in Imperial China . They have also occurred among the Habsburg dynasty in Austria, the Al-Thani dynasty in Qatar , and in Haiti in the 19th to early 20th centuries. The majority of Russian tsars between 1725 and 1801 were either overthrown or usurped power in palace coups. The term putsch ( [pʊtʃ] , from Swiss German for 'knock'), denotes

2280-622: A majority on the Legislative Council for the first time. Seen as a major step towards self-government, the new arrangement prompted the colony's first true political party, founded in August 1947, the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC). The UGCC sought self-government as quickly as possible. Since the leading members were all successful professionals, they needed to pay someone to run the party, and their choice fell on Nkrumah at

2394-594: A monument to the new nation, Nkrumah opened Black Star Square near Osu Castle in the coastal district of Osu, Accra . This square would be used for national symbolism and mass patriotic rallies. Under Nkrumah's leadership, Ghana adopted some social democratic policies and practices. Nkrumah created a welfare system, started various community programs, and established schools. Gold Coast Coup d%27%C3%A9tat A coup d'état ( / ˌ k uː d eɪ ˈ t ɑː / ; French: [ku deta] ; lit.   ' stroke of state ' ), or simply

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2508-476: A nationwide campaign organization, using vans with loudspeakers to blare the party's message. The UGCC failed to set up a nationwide structure, and proved unable to take advantage of the fact that many of its opponents were in prison. In the February 1951 legislative election , the first general election to be held under universal franchise in colonial Africa, the CPP was elected in a landslide. The CPP secured 34 of

2622-523: A new bill that had just been enacted, which allowed minor chiefs to appeal to the government in Accra, bypassing traditional chiefly authority. The British were unwilling to leave unresolved the fundamental question as to how an independent Gold Coast should be governed, and in June 1956, the Colonial Secretary, Alan Lennox-Boyd announced that there would be another general election in the Gold Coast, and if

2736-534: A nightly message to his street followers. Occasionally Suji Abdul Hamid [ sic ], a champion of Harlem labour, held a night rally and demanded more jobs for blacks in their own community  ...This is part of the drama on the Harlem streets as the student Kwame Nkrumah walked and watched. Nkrumah was an activist student, organizing a group of expatriate African students in Pennsylvania and building it into

2850-407: A petition to the governor. When the march took place on 28 February, three veterans were killed by police gunfire, prompting the 1948 Accra riots , which spread throughout the country. According to Nkrumah's biographer, David Birmingham, "West Africa's erstwhile "model colony" witnessed a riot and business premises were looted. The African Revolution had begun." The colonial government assumed that

2964-610: A possible communist. Nkrumah was determined to go to London, wanting to continue his education there now that the Second World War had ended. James, in a 1945 letter introducing Nkrumah to Trinidad-born George Padmore in London, wrote: "This young man is coming to you. He is not very bright, but nevertheless do what you can for him because he's determined to throw Europeans out of Africa." Nkrumah returned to London in May 1945 and enrolled at

3078-516: A proposal for the promotion of fundamental human rights. Beginning in April 1949, there was considerable pressure on Nkrumah from his supporters to leave the UGCC and form his own party. On 12 June 1949, he announced the formation of the Convention People's Party (CPP), with the word "convention" chosen, according to Nkrumah, "to carry the masses with us". There were attempts to heal the breach with

3192-405: A putsch. Pronunciamiento ( ' pronouncement ' ) is a term of Spanish origin for a type of coup d'état . Specifically the pronunciamiento is the formal declaration deposing the previous government and justifying the installation of the new government by the golpe de estado . One author distinguishes a coup, in which a military or political faction takes power for itself, from

3306-613: A scholarship that provided for his tuition at Lincoln University. He remained short of funds through his time in the US. To make ends meet, he did menial jobs on roles such as a wholesaler of fish and poultries, cleaner, dishwasher and others. On Sundays, he visited black Presbyterian churches in Philadelphia and in New York. Nkrumah completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and sociology in 1939. Lincoln then appointed him an assistant lecturer in philosophy. He began to receive invitations to be

3420-556: A somewhat higher chance of success in Africa and Asia. Numbers of successful coups have decreased over time. A number of political science datasets document coup attempts around the world and over time, generally starting in the post-World War II period. Major examples include the Global Instances of Coups dataset, the Coups & Political Instability dataset by the Center of Systemic Peace,

3534-469: A strategy for supplanting colonialism with African socialism . They agreed to pursue a federal United States of Africa, with interlocking regional organizations, governing through separate states of limited sovereignty. They planned to pursue a new African culture without tribalism , democratic within a socialist system, synthesizing traditional aspects with modern thinking, and for this to be achieved by non-violent means if possible. Among those who attended

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3648-491: A student at Achimota; the two men met and Azikiwe's influence increased Nkrumah's interest in black nationalism. The young teacher decided to further his education. Azikiwe had attended Lincoln University , a historically black college in Chester County, Pennsylvania , west of Philadelphia , and he advised Nkrumah to enroll there. Nkrumah, who had failed the entrance examination for London University , gained funds for

3762-425: A two-sided impact on coup attempts, depending on the state of the economy. During periods of economic expansion, elections reduced the likelihood of coup attempts, whereas elections during economic crises increased the likelihood of coup attempts. A 2021 study found that oil wealthy nations see a pronounced risk of coup attempts but these coups are unlikely to succeed. A 2014 study of 18 Latin American countries in

3876-570: Is an editor's note in the London Morning Chronicle ,1804, reporting the arrest by Napoleon in France, of Moreau , Berthier , Masséna , and Bernadotte : "There was a report in circulation yesterday of a sort of coup d'état having taken place in France, in consequence of some formidable conspiracy against the existing government." In the British press , the phrase came to be used to describe

3990-519: Is more likely in former French colonies. A 2018 study in the Journal of Peace Research found that leaders who survive coup attempts and respond by purging known and potential rivals are likely to have longer tenures as leaders. A 2019 study in Conflict Management and Peace Science found that personalist dictatorships are more likely to take coup-proofing measures than other authoritarian regimes;

4104-648: Is the lack of street lights. The motorway had no streetlights when it was completed in 1964. In June 2002, the Ghana News Agency reported that the Government of Ghana was to spend 1.95 million cedis to light up the motorway. The project was to commemorate the country's Golden Jubilee in 2007. The project had challenges that delayed its completion of the Accra–Tema Motorway. It was suspended due to cable thefts. The problem led to plain-clothed policemen patrolling

4218-560: The Ghana National College . This among other activities, led UGCC committee members to accuse him of acting in the party's name without authority. Fearing he would harm them more outside the party than within, they agreed to make him honorary treasurer. Nkrumah's popularity, already large, was increased with his founding of the Accra Evening News , which was not a party organ but was owned by Nkrumah and others. He also founded

4332-606: The Ivory Coast , he arrived in the Gold Coast where he briefly stayed and reunited with his mother in Tarkwa . He began work at the party's headquarters in Saltpond on 29 December 1947 where he worked as a general secretary. Nkrumah quickly submitted plans for branches of the UGCC to be established colony-wide, and for strikes if necessary to gain political ends. This activist stance divided

4446-532: The Lenin Peace Prize from the Soviet Union in 1962. After twelve years abroad pursuing higher education, developing his political philosophy , and organizing with other diasporic pan-Africanists, Nkrumah returned to the Gold Coast to begin his political career as an advocate of national independence. He formed the Convention People's Party , which achieved rapid success through its unprecedented appeal to

4560-592: The London School of Economics as a PhD candidate in Anthropology . He withdrew after one term and the next year enrolled at University College London , with the intent to write a philosophy dissertation on "Knowledge and Logical Positivism". His supervisor, A. J. Ayer , declined to rate Nkrumah as a "first-class philosopher", saying, "I liked him and enjoyed talking to him but he did not seem to me to have an analytical mind. He wanted answers too quickly. I think part of

4674-560: The UK , preferring the name "Kwame". According to Ebenezer Obiri Addo in his study of the future president, the name "Nkrumah", a name traditionally given to a ninth child, indicates that Kwame probably held that place in the house of his father, who had several wives. His father, Opanyin Kofi Nwiana Ngolomah, came from Nkroful situated in Nzema East currently called Ellembele, belonging to

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4788-402: The decolonisation of Africa . Nkrumah became the secretary of WANS. In addition to seeking to organize Africans to gain their nations' freedom, Nkrumah sought to succour the many West African seamen who had been stranded, destitute, in London at the end of the war, and established a Coloured Workers Association to empower and succour them. The U.S. State Department and MI5 watched Nkrumah and

4902-456: The head of government assume dictatorial powers. A soft coup , sometimes referred to as a silent coup or a bloodless coup , is an illegal overthrow of a government, but unlike a regular coup d'état it is achieved without the use of force or violence. A palace coup or palace revolution is a coup in which one faction within the ruling group displaces another faction within a ruling group. Along with popular protests, palace coups are

5016-420: The paramilitary faction led by Ernst Röhm , but Nazi propaganda justified it as preventing a supposed putsch planned or attempted by Röhm. The Nazi term Röhm-Putsch is still used by Germans to describe the event, often with quotation marks as the 'so-called Röhm Putsch'. The 1961 Algiers putsch and the 1991 August Putsch also use the term. The 2023 Wagner Group rebellion has also been described as

5130-444: The rents that an incumbent can extract . One reason why authoritarian governments tend to have incompetent militaries is that authoritarian regimes fear that their military will stage a coup or allow a domestic uprising to proceed uninterrupted – as a consequence, authoritarian rulers have incentives to place incompetent loyalists in key positions in the military. A 2016 study shows that the implementation of succession rules reduce

5244-644: The 1948 riots had included elected local government rather than the existing system dominated by the chiefs. This was uncontroversial until it became clear that it would be implemented by the CPP. That party's majority in the Legislative Assembly passed legislation in late 1951 that shifted power from the chiefs to the chairs of the councils, though there was some local rioting as rates were imposed. Nkrumah's re-titling as prime minister had not given him additional power, and he sought constitutional reform that would lead to independence. In 1952, he consulted with

5358-429: The 20th century study found that coup frequency does not vary with development levels, economic inequality , or the rate of economic growth. In what is referred to as "coup-proofing", regimes create structures that make it hard for any small group to seize power. These coup-proofing strategies may include the strategic placing of family, ethnic, and religious groups in the military; creation of an armed force parallel to

5472-431: The 38 seats contested on a party basis, with Nkrumah elected for his Accra constituency. The UGCC won three seats, and one was taken by an independent. Arden-Clarke saw that the only alternative to Nkrumah's freedom was the end of the constitutional experiment. Nkrumah was released from prison on 12 February, receiving a rapturous reception from his followers. The following day, Arden-Clarke sent for him and asked him to form

5586-649: The African Students Association of America and Canada, becoming its president. Some members felt that the group should aspire for each colony to gain independence on its own; Nkrumah urged a Pan-African strategy. Nkrumah played a major role in the Pan-African conference held in New York in 1944, which urged the United States, at the end of the Second World War , to help ensure Africa became developed and free. His old teacher Aggrey had died in 1929 in

5700-588: The Americas (36.5% and 31.9%, respectively). Asia and the Middle East have experienced 13.1% and 15.8% of total global coups, respectively. Europe has experienced by far the fewest coup attempts: 2.6%." Most coup attempts occurred in the mid-1960s, but there were also large numbers of coup attempts in the mid-1970s and the early 1990s. From 1950 to 2010, a majority of coups failed in the Middle East and Latin America. They had

5814-566: The Asona clan of the Akan Tribe. Sources indicated that Ngolomah stayed at Tarkwa-Nsuaem and dealt in the goldsmith business. Ngolomah was respected for his wise counsel by those who sought his advice on traditional issues and domestic affairs. He died in 1927. Kwame was his mother's only child. She sent him to the elementary school run by a Catholic mission at Half Assini , where he proved an adept student. Although his mother, whose name

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5928-523: The British, and came into force in April of the following year. The new document provided for an assembly of 104 members, all directly elected, with an all-African cabinet responsible for the internal governing of the colony. In the election on 15 June 1954, the CPP won 71, with the regional Northern People's Party forming the official opposition. A number of opposition groups formed the National Liberation Movement . Their demands were for

6042-509: The Committee on Youth Organization (CYO) as a youth wing for the UGCC. It soon broke away and adopted the motto "Self-Government Now". The CYO united students, ex-servicemen, and market women. Nkrumah recounted in his autobiography that he knew that a break with the UGCC was inevitable, and wanted the masses behind him when the conflict occurred. Nkrumah's appeals for "Free-Dom" appealed to the great numbers of underemployed youths who had come from

6156-611: The Coup d'etat Project by the Cline Center, the Colpus coup dataset, and the Coups and Agency Mechanism dataset. A 2023 study argued that major coup datasets tend to over-rely on international news sources to gather their information, potentially biasing the types of events included. Its findings show that while such a strategy is sufficient for gathering information on successful and failed coups, attempts to gather data on coup plots and rumors require

6270-406: The Gold Coast more self-government. Nkrumah saw, even before the commission reported, that its recommendations would fall short of full dominion status, and began to organize a Positive Action campaign. Nkrumah demanded a constituent assembly to write a constitution. When the governor, Charles Arden-Clarke , would not commit to this, Nkrumah called for positive action, with the unions beginning

6384-452: The Gold Coast should have. This was refused by her government, who in 1955 stated that such a commission should only be used if the people of the Gold Coast proved incapable of deciding their own affairs. Amid political violence, the two sides attempted to reconcile their differences, but the NLM refused to participate in any committee with a CPP majority. The traditional leaders were also incensed by

6498-533: The U.S. at the event. The Soviet delegation urged Nkrumah to visit Moscow as soon as possible. Political scientist Ralph Bunche , an African American, was there for the United Nations, while the Duchess of Kent represented Queen Elizabeth II. Offers of assistance poured in from across the world. Even without them, the country seemed prosperous, with cocoa prices high and the potential of new resource development. As

6612-593: The UGCC was responsible for the unrest, and arrested six leaders, including Nkrumah and Danquah. The Big Six were incarcerated together in Kumasi , increasing the rift between Nkrumah and the others, who blamed him for the riots and their detention. After the colonial government learned that there were plots to storm the prison, the six were separated, with Nkrumah sent to Lawra ; all six were freed in April 1948. Many students and teachers had demonstrated for their release and had been suspended; Nkrumah, using his own funds, began

6726-514: The UGCC; at one July meeting, it was agreed to reinstate Nkrumah as secretary and disband the CPP. But Nkrumah's supporters would not have it, and persuaded him to refuse the offer and remain at their head. The CPP adopted the red cockerel as its symbol – a familiar icon for local ethnic groups, and a symbol of leadership, alertness, and masculinity. Party symbols and colours (red, white, and green) appeared on clothing, flags, vehicles and houses. CPP operatives drove red-white-and-green vans across

6840-469: The US, and in 1942, Nkrumah led traditional prayers for Aggrey at the graveside. This led to a break between him and Lincoln, though after he rose to prominence in the Gold Coast, he returned in 1951 to accept an honorary degree. Nevertheless, Nkrumah's doctoral thesis remained uncompleted. He had adopted the forename Francis while at the Amissano seminary; in 1945, he took the name Kwame Nkrumah. Just as in

6954-534: The United States. Nkrumah spent his summers in Harlem , a center of black life, thought and culture. He found housing and employment in New York City with difficulty and involved himself in the community. He spent many evenings listening to and arguing with street orators, and according to Clarke, Kwame Nkrumah in his years in America stated; These evenings were a vital part of Kwame Nkrumah's American education. He

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7068-489: The WANS, focusing on their links with Communism. Nkrumah and Padmore established a group called The Circle to lead the way to West African independence and unity; the group aimed to create a Union of African Socialist Republics. A document from The Circle, setting forth that goal was found on Nkrumah upon his arrest in Accra in 1948, and was used against him by the British authorities. The 1946 Gold Coast constitution gave Africans

7182-412: The above factors are connected to military culture and power dynamics. These factors can be divided into multiple categories, with two of these categories being a threat to military interests and support for military interests. If interests go in either direction, the military will find itself either capitalizing off that power or attempting to gain it back. Oftentimes, military spending is an indicator of

7296-424: The authors argue that this is because "personalists are characterized by weak institutions and narrow support bases, a lack of unifying ideologies and informal links to the ruler". In their 2022 book Revolution and Dictatorship: The Violent Origins of Durable Authoritarianism , political scientists Steven Levitsky and Lucan Way found that political-military fusion, where the ruling party is highly interlinked with

7410-413: The code name of SWIFT. Beginning in October 1952, Nkrumah sought opinions from councils and from political parties on reform, and consulted widely across the country, including with opposition groups. The result the following year was a White Paper on a new constitution, seen as a final step before independence. Published in June 1953, the constitutional proposals were accepted both by the assembly and by

7524-399: The common voter. He became Prime Minister in 1952 and retained the position when Ghana declared independence from Britain in 1957. In 1960, Ghanaians approved a new constitution and elected Nkrumah President . His administration was primarily socialist as well as nationalist . It funded national industrial and energy projects, developed a strong national education system and promoted

7638-547: The congress was the venerable W. E. B. Du Bois along with some who later took leading roles in leading their nations to independence, including Hastings Banda of Nyasaland (which became Malawi ), Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya and Obafemi Awolowo of Nigeria . The congress sought to establish ongoing African activism in Britain in conjunction with the West African National Secretariat (WANS) to work towards

7752-402: The contextualized idea of a 'knockout blow to the existing administration within a state'. One early use within text translated from French was in 1785 in a printed translation of a letter from a French merchant, commenting on an arbitrary decree, or arrêt , issued by the French king restricting the import of British wool. What may be its first published use within a text composed in English

7866-412: The country, playing music and rallying public support for the party and especially for Nkrumah. These efforts were wildly successful, especially because previous political efforts in the Gold Coast had focused exclusively on the urban intelligentsia. The British convened a selected commission of middle-class Africans, including all of the Big Six except Nkrumah, to draft a new constitution that would give

7980-489: The coup attempt will be successful. The number of successful coups has decreased over time. Failed coups in authoritarian systems are likely to strengthen the power of the authoritarian ruler. The cumulative number of coups is a strong predictor of future coups, a phenomenon referred to as the "coup trap". In what is referred to as "coup-proofing", regimes create structures that make it hard for any small group to seize power. These coup-proofing strategies may include

8094-609: The coup trap and reduces cycles of political instability. Hybrid regimes are more vulnerable to coups than very authoritarian states or democratic states. A 2021 study found that democratic regimes were not substantially more likely to experience coups. A 2015 study finds that terrorism is strongly associated with re-shuffling coups. A 2016 study finds that there is an ethnic component to coups: "When leaders attempt to build ethnic armies, or dismantle those created by their predecessors, they provoke violent resistance from military officers." Another 2016 study shows that protests increase

8208-460: The course. He earned from Penn the following year a Master of Arts degree in philosophy and a Master of Science in education. While at Penn, Nkrumah worked with the linguist William Everett Welmers, providing the spoken material that formed the basis of the first descriptive grammar of his native Fante dialect of the Akan language . Nkrumah was also initiated into Prince Hall Freemasonry while living in

8322-1041: The days of the Egyptians, so today God had ordained that certain among the African race should journey westwards to equip themselves with knowledge and experience for the day when they would be called upon to return to their motherland and to use the learning they had acquired to help improve the lot of their brethren. ...I had not realised at the time that I would contribute so much towards the fulfillment of this prophecy. — Kwame Nkrumah, The Autobiography of Kwame Nkrumah (1957) Nkrumah read books about politics and divinity, and tutored students in philosophy. In 1943 Nkrumah met Trinidadian Marxist C. L. R. James , Russian expatriate Raya Dunayevskaya , and Chinese-American Grace Lee Boggs , all of whom were members of an American-based Marxist intellectual cohort . Nkrumah later credited James with teaching him "how an underground movement worked". Federal Bureau of Investigation files on Nkrumah, kept from January to May 1945, identify him as

8436-471: The farms and villages to the towns. "Old hymn tunes were adapted to new songs of liberation which welcomed traveling orators , and especially Nkrumah himself, to mass rallies across the Gold Coast." According to a public speech delivered by Aaron Mike Oquaye , he claimed a meeting occurred in Saltpond , a town in the Central region, between Nkrumah and the members of UGCC where Nkrumah was said to have rejected

8550-519: The fifth of March turned to the sixth, Nkrumah stood before tens of thousands of supporters and proclaimed, "Ghana will be free forever." He spoke at the first session of the Ghana Parliament that Independence Day , telling his new country's citizens that "we have a duty to prove to the world that Africans can conduct their own affairs with efficiency and tolerance and through the exercise of democracy. We must set an example to all Africa." Nkrumah

8664-484: The ideas of Marcus Garvey and W. E. B. Du Bois . Aggrey, Fraser, and others at Achimota thought that there should be close co-operation between the races in governing the Gold Coast, but Nkrumah, echoing Garvey, soon came to believe that only when the black race governed itself could there be harmony between the races. After obtaining his teacher's certificate from the Prince of Wales' College at Achimota in 1930, Nkrumah

8778-419: The likelihood of a coup taking place. Nordvik found that about 75% of coups that took place in many different countries rooted from military spending and oil windfalls. The accumulation of previous coups is a strong predictor of future coups, a phenomenon called the coup trap . A 2014 study of 18 Latin American countries found that the establishment of open political competition helps bring countries out of

8892-435: The likelihood of coups. A fifth 2016 study finds no evidence that coups are contagious; one coup in a region does not make other coups in the region likely to follow. One study found that coups are more likely to occur in states with small populations, as there are smaller coordination problems for coup-plotters. In autocracies, the frequency of coups seems to be affected by the succession rules in place, with monarchies with

9006-510: The lion with a black star. Red symbolizes bloodshed; green stands for beauty, agriculture, and abundance; yellow represents mineral wealth; and the Black Star represents African freedom. The country's new coat of arms , designed by Amon Kotei , includes eagles, a lion, a St. George's Cross, and a Black Star, with copious gold and gold trim. Philip Gbeho was commissioned to compose the new national anthem, " God Bless Our Homeland Ghana ". As

9120-427: The mid-1970s and the early 1990s. Coups occurring in the post- Cold War period have been more likely to result in democratic systems than Cold War coups, though coups still mostly perpetuate authoritarianism . Many factors may lead to the occurrence of a coup, as well as determine the success or failure of a coup. Once a coup is underway, coup success is driven by coup-makers' ability to get others to believe that

9234-644: The military and created the administrative structures of the military from its inception, is extremely effective at preventing military coups. For example, the People's Liberation Army was created by the Chinese Communist Party during the Chinese Civil War , and never instigated a military coup even after large-scale policy failures (i.e. the Great Leap Forward ) or the extreme political instability of

9348-400: The military more likely. A 2018 study found that "oil price shocks are seen to promote coups in onshore-intensive oil countries, while preventing them in offshore-intensive oil countries". The study argues that states which have onshore oil wealth tend to build up their military to protect the oil, whereas states do not do that for offshore oil wealth. A 2020 study found that elections had

9462-536: The motorway. Unfortunately, not all of the mounted streetlights on the motorway are functional. In 2009, Adom FM , an Accra-based private radio station embarked on a campaign to educate users of the motorway on dangers that faced commuters on the multi-purpose highway. The education included the rampant criminal activities on the motorway, the unsafe bridges, the potholes, stolen side-rails, malfunctioning streetlights, lack of reflectors, broken-down vehicles, and road safety . In August, 2009, rehabilitation work began on

9576-509: The occurrence of coup attempts. Succession rules are believed to hamper coordination efforts among coup plotters by assuaging elites who have more to gain by patience than by plotting. According to political scientists Curtis Bell and Jonathan Powell, coup attempts in neighbouring countries lead to greater coup-proofing and coup-related repression in a region. A 2017 study finds that countries' coup-proofing strategies are heavily influenced by other countries with similar histories. Coup-proofing

9690-554: The party's governing committee, which was led by J. B. Danquah . Nkrumah embarked on a tour to gain donations for the UGCC and establish new branches. Although the Gold Coast was more developed politically than Britain's other West African colonies, there was considerable discontent. Postwar inflation had caused public anger at high prices, leading to a boycott of small businesses run by Arabs which began in January 1948. Local cocoa bean farmers were upset because trees exhibiting cacao swollen-shoot virus , but still capable of yielding

9804-435: The plan for independence, and demanded that power be devolved to the regions. Discussions took place through late 1956 and into 1957. Although Nkrumah did not compromise on his insistence on a unitary state, the nation was divided into five regions, with power devolved from Accra, and the chiefs having a role in their governments. On 21 February 1957, the British prime minister , Harold Macmillan , announced that Ghana would be

9918-683: The political-military actions of an unsuccessful minority reactionary coup. The term was initially coined for the Züriputsch of 6 September 1839 in Switzerland. It was also used for attempted coups in Weimar Germany , such as the 1920 Kapp Putsch , Küstrin Putsch , and Adolf Hitler 's 1923 Beer Hall Putsch . The 1934 Night of the Long Knives was Hitler's purge to eliminate opponents, particularly

10032-440: The regular military; and development of multiple internal security agencies with overlapping jurisdiction that constantly monitor one another. It may also involve frequent salary hikes and promotions for members of the military, and the deliberate use of diverse bureaucrats. Research shows that some coup-proofing strategies reduce the risk of coups occurring. However, coup-proofing reduces military effectiveness, and limits

10146-720: The rest of his life in Guinea , where he was named honorary co-president. Kwame Nkrumah was born on Tuesday, 21 September 1909 in Nkroful , Gold Coast (now Ghana). Nkroful was a small village in the Nzema area, in the southwest of the Gold Coast, close to the frontier with the French colony of the Ivory Coast . His father did not live with the family, but worked in Half Assini where he pursued his goldsmith business until his death. Kwame Nkrumah

10260-401: The risk of coups, presumably because they ease coordination obstacles among coup plotters and make international actors less likely to punish coup leaders. A third 2016 study finds that coups become more likely in the wake of elections in autocracies when the results reveal electoral weakness for the incumbent autocrat. A fourth 2016 study finds that inequality between social classes increases

10374-399: The road and was to cost 500,000 cedis. Part of the motorway was to be reconstructed using epoxy cement . The rehabilitation work took eight weeks and involved the removal and replacement of the concrete slabs which had developed potholes and the repair of the asphalt surface on shoulders of the road. Kwame Nkrumah Francis Kwame Nkrumah (21 September 1909 – 27 April 1972)

10488-400: The strategic placing of family, ethnic, and religious groups in the military and the fragmenting of military and security agencies. However, coup-proofing reduces military effectiveness as loyalty is prioritized over experience when filling key positions within the military. The term comes from French coup d'État , literally meaning a 'stroke of state' or 'blow of state'. In French,

10602-527: The suggestion of Ako Adjei . Nkrumah hesitated but realized that the UGCC was controlled by conservative interests and noted that the new post could open huge political opportunities for him and accepted. After being questioned by British officials about his communist affiliations, Nkrumah boarded the MV Accra at Liverpool in November 1947 for the voyage home. After brief stops in Sierra Leone , Liberia , and

10716-669: The ten-year elementary programme in eight years. In 1925, he was a student-teacher in the school and was baptized into the Catholic faith. While at the school, he was noticed by the Reverend Alec Garden Fraser , principal of the Government Training College (soon to become Achimota School ) in the Gold Coast's capital, Accra . Fraser arranged for Nkrumah to train as a teacher at his school. Here, Columbia -educated deputy headmaster Kwegyir Aggrey exposed him to

10830-449: The three British members of the cabinet took care not to vote against the elected majority. Prior to the CPP taking office, British officials had prepared a ten-year plan for development. With demands for infrastructure improvements coming in from all over the colony, Nkrumah approved it in general, but halved the time to five years. The colony was in good financial shape, with reserves from years of cocoa profit held in London, and Nkrumah

10944-457: The top, is a form of coup d'état in which a political leader, having come to power through legal means, stays in power through illegal means through the actions of themselves and/or their supporters. The leader may dissolve or render powerless the national legislature and unlawfully assume extraordinary powers not granted under normal circumstances. Other measures may include annulling the nation's constitution , suspending civil courts, and having

11058-464: The trip and his education from relatives. He travelled by way of Britain , where he learned, to his outrage, of Italy's invasion of Ethiopia , one of the few independent African nations. He arrived in the United States , in October 1935. According to historian John Henrik Clarke in his article on Nkrumah's American sojourn, "the influence of the ten years that he spent in the United States had

11172-593: The trouble may have been that he wasn't concentrating very hard on his thesis. It was a way of marking time until the opportunity came for him to return to Ghana." Finally, Nkrumah enrolled in, but did not complete, a study in law at Gray's Inn . Nkrumah spent his time on political organizations. He and Padmore were among the principal organizers, and co-treasurers, of the Fifth Pan-African Congress in Manchester (15–19 October 1945). The Congress elaborated

11286-656: The various murders by Napoleon's alleged secret police , the Gens d'Armes d'Elite , who executed the Duke of Enghien : "the actors in torture, the distributors of the poisoning draughts, and the secret executioners of those unfortunate individuals or families, whom Bonaparte's measures of safety require to remove. In what revolutionary tyrants call grand[s] coups d'état , as butchering, or poisoning, or drowning, en masse, they are exclusively employed." A self-coup , also called an autocoup (from Spanish autogolpe ) or coup from

11400-417: The visiting Colonial Secretary , Oliver Lyttelton , who indicated that Britain would look favorably on further advancement, so long as the chiefs and other stakeholders had the opportunity to express their views. Initially skeptical of Nkrumah's socialist policies, Britain's MI5 had compiled large amounts of intelligence on Nkrumah through several sources, including tapping phones and mail interception under

11514-410: The war's duration. A 2003 review of the academic literature found that the following factors influenced coups: The literature review in a 2016 study includes mentions of ethnic factionalism, supportive foreign governments, leader inexperience, slow growth, commodity price shocks, and poverty. Coups have been found to appear in environments that are heavily influenced by military powers. Multiple of

11628-460: The word État ( French: [eta] ) is capitalized when it denotes a sovereign political entity. Although the concept of a coup d'état has featured in politics since antiquity, the phrase is of relatively recent coinage. It did not appear within an English text before the 19th century except when used in the translation of a French source, there being no simple phrase in English to convey

11742-570: The year after the coup than existed in the year before the coup. One-third of coups in dictatorships during the Cold War and 10% of later ones reshuffled the regime leadership. Democracies were installed in the wake of 12% of Cold War coups in dictatorships and 40% of post-Cold War ones. Coups occurring in the post- Cold War period have been more likely to result in democratic systems than Cold War coups, though coups still mostly perpetuate authoritarianism . Coups that occur during civil wars shorten

11856-489: Was Elizabeth Nyanibah (1876/77–1979), later stated his year of birth as 1912, Nkrumah wrote that he was born on 21 September 1909. His mother hailed from Nsuaem and belonged to the Agona family . She was a fishmonger and petty trader when she married his father. Eight days after his birth, his father named him as Francis Nwia-Kofi after a relative but later his parents named him as Francis Kwame Ngolomah. He progressed through

11970-456: Was Leader of Government Business in a cabinet chaired by Arden-Clarke. Quick progress was made, and in 1952, the governor withdrew from the cabinet, leaving Nkrumah as his prime minister, with the portfolios that had been reserved for expatriates going to Africans. There were accusations of corruption, and of nepotism, as officials, following African custom, attempted to benefit their extended families and their tribes. The recommendations following

12084-515: Was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He served as Prime Minister of the Gold Coast from 1952 until 1957, when it gained independence from Britain . He was then the first Prime Minister and then the President of Ghana , from 1957 until 1966. An influential advocate of Pan-Africanism , Nkrumah was a founding member of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and winner of

12198-436: Was able to influence events through smuggled notes written on toilet paper. The British prepared for an election for the Gold Coast under their new constitution, and Nkrumah insisted that the CPP contest all seats. The situation had become calmer once Nkrumah was arrested, and the CPP and the British worked together to prepare electoral rolls. Nkrumah stood, from prison, for a directly elected Accra seat. Gbedemah worked to set up

12312-441: Was able to spend freely. Modern trunk roads were built along the coast and within the interior. The rail system was modernized and expanded. Modern water and sewer systems were installed in most towns, where housing schemes were begun. Construction began on a new harbour at Tema , near Accra, and the existing port, at Takoradi , was expanded. An urgent programme to build and expand schools, from primary to teacher and trade training,

12426-416: Was begun. From 1951 to 1956, the number of pupils being educated at the colony's schools rose from 200,000 to 500,000. Nevertheless, the number of graduates being produced was insufficient to the burgeoning civil service's needs, and in 1953, Nkrumah announced that though Africans would be given preference, the country would be relying on expatriate European civil servants for several years. Nkrumah's title

12540-439: Was composed of four regions, several former colonies amalgamated into one. Nkrumah sought to unite them under one nationality, and bring the country to independence. Key to meeting the challenges was convincing the British that the CPP's programmes were not only practical, but inevitable, and Nkrumah and Arden-Clarke worked closely together. The governor instructed the civil service to give the fledgling government full support, and

12654-710: Was given a teaching post at the Roman Catholic primary school in Elmina in 1931. After a year there, he was made headmaster of the school at Axim . In Axim, he started to get involved in politics and founded the Nzema Literary Society. In 1933, he was appointed a teacher at the Catholic seminary at Amissano . Although life there was strict, he liked it, and considered becoming a Jesuit . Nkrumah had heard journalist and future Nigerian president Nnamdi Azikiwe speak while

12768-506: Was going to a university – the university of the Harlem Streets. This was no ordinary time and these street speakers were no ordinary men  ...The streets of Harlem were open forums, presided over [by] master speakers like Arthur Reed and his protege Ira Kemp. The young Carlos Cook [ sic ], founder of the Garvey oriented African Pioneer Movement was on the scene, also bringing

12882-509: Was hailed as the Osagyefo – which means "redeemer" in the Akan language . This independence ceremony included the Duchess of Kent and Governor General Charles Arden-Clarke . With more than 600 reporters in attendance, Ghanaian independence became one of the most internationally reported news events in modern African history. The flag of Ghana designed by Theodosia Okoh , inverting Ethiopia's green-yellow-red Lion of Judah flag and replacing

12996-427: Was raised by his mother and his extended family, who lived together traditionally and had more distant relatives often visiting. He lived a carefree childhood, spent in the village, in the bush, and on the nearby sea. During his years as a student in the United States , he was known as Francis Nwia Kofi Nkrumah, Kofi being the name given to males born on Fridays. He later changed his name to Kwame Nkrumah in 1945 in

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