Ghana, 1984 — dissident coup attempt
Event Summary
The dataset records an attempted dissident coup in Ghana on 23 March 1984 against the Provisional National Defence Council of Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings, part of the long series of plots that beset his regime during its most turbulent years. Rawlings, who had seized power for the second time in the 31 December 1981 coup, governed through a radical populist military council amid a devastating economic crisis, and his rule was repeatedly challenged by disaffected soldiers, rival leftists, exiles, and former comrades. A coup attempt in March 1984 came within that pattern of recurrent conspiracies and did not unseat him.
Rawlings survived this and the many other attempts against him, gradually consolidating his hold; he adopted an internationally backed economic recovery program that stabilized Ghana, and over the following decade he steered the country back toward constitutional rule, winning multiparty elections and serving as elected civilian president until he stepped down at the end of his term in 2001.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Sources
Editorial Note
Cross-Reference
Datasets agree. At least two of the three reference datasets we check against carry this event, and none of them disagrees about its date or its result.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
- Cline Center id
45203231984- Albrecht/Koehler/Schutz (CAM) id
CAM-452-1984-03-23
How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.
Outcome and Target
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings survived the March 1984 coup attempt and consolidated his PNDC government.
Baseline coding: Coup attempt failed to remove the incumbent. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.
Baseline Dataset Citation
Baseline Source-Document Entries
CSP
New York Times
The Guardian
Christian Science Monitor
This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →