Feaver’s (1999) summary of civil–military relations has simplified coup-proofing
efforts to two categories: efforts that attempt to reduce the ability of a military to
intervene and those that reduce the disposition of the military to intervene. Two
measures are included to account for structural obstacles that will decrease the
ability to execute a coup. I first use the Pilster and Bo¨hmelt (2011) index for the
number of effective organizations, which can be thought of as ground-capable military
bodies that could credibly combat a coup. I also include Belkin and Schofer’s
(2003) counterbalancing variable. This is a continuous variable that considers the
ratio between regular and paramilitary forces, as well as the number of personnel
in those forces. The first hypothesis predicts the use of diversion should subside
as structural coup proofing increases.