Guardian coups

Guardian coups have been described as musical chairs. The stated aim of this form of coup is to improve public order, efficiency, or to end corruption. There is usually no fundamental shift in the structure of power, and the leaders of these types of coups generally portray their actions as a temporary and unfortunate necessity. One of the early examples of this is the coup by Sulla in 88 BC which displaced the elected leadership of Gaius Marius in Rome. A more recent instance was when ruling civilian Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was overthrown by Chief of Army Staff General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq in 1977, the latter whom cited widespread civil disorder and impending civil war as justification for his taking power. Just over two decades later General Pervez Musharraf overthrew Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on mostly the same grounds in 1999. Many nations with guardian coups undergo many shifts between civilian and military governments. Examples include Pakistan, Turkey, Bangladesh, Fiji, and Thailand. Bloodless coups usually arise from Guardian coups.