Puppet state

A puppet government is a government that, though notionally of the same culture as the governed people, owes its existence (or other major debt) to being installed, supported or controlled by a more powerful entity, typically a foreign power. Such a government is also known as a puppet régime.

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The term is partisan and prone to semantic disputes, used almost exclusively by detractors of such governments, whether or not the majority of citizens affected acknowledge the characterization, or object to that kind of government. Often a proclaimed puppet government faces a rival government which uses the puppet government term to weaken the legitimacy of that government. Also usually implied is the government's lack of legitimacy, in the view of those using the term.

Related Topics:
Partisan - Semantic disputes - Legitimacy

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For example, each of the two Korean governments has throughout its history often used the rhetoric that it is in fact the only true ruler of the peninsula, and that the other government is merely a "puppet" of the US/Soviets.

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A vassal state may be instituted as the result of a military defeat when the winner has not enough military power to fully control the defeated or enough population to colonize the new acquisitions. The tribute is a compromise for both the victor and the defeated state.

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Governments which take power after foreign military intervention, or the threat thereof, are often accused by their opponents of being puppet governments, for example the government of Hamid Karzai in post-Taliban Afghanistan or the Diem government of South Vietnam, supported by the United States. Indeed, such accusations are commonly used to destabilize governments, encouraging and justifying coup d'états.

Related Topics:
Hamid Karzai - Taliban - Afghanistan - Diem - South Vietnam - United States - Coup d'états

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