ABSTRACT
The analysis of military intervention in the form of coups has achieved the status of an institutionalized topic in comparative politics. This chapter aims to determine whether the performance of military regimes is such as to differentiate them from civilian regimes. It describes a cluster analysis of the total population of regimes, which provides a generalized picture of the relation between the populations of military regimes; coups terminate civilian (CRM), and all CR. Perhaps the most interesting variable is the percentage of cabinet posts held by the military. The CRM are located primarily in the cluster characterized by mixed political restrictions, small military, the lowest background economic factors, low international trade but average balances, and low economic performance rates. Rather, it is the overview generated by the cluster analysis and complemented by the array of difference tests which more accurately and profitably describes the diversity of military regimes.
