A coup d'état (/ˌkuːdeɪˈtɑː/ ( listen (help·info)); French: blow of state; plural: coups d'état), also known as a coup, a putsch, or an overthrow, is the sudden and illegal seizure of a government, usually instigated by a small group of the existing state establishment to depose the established government and replace it with a new ruling body. A coup d'état is considered successful when the usurpers establish their dominance. If a coup fails, a civil war may ensue.A coup d'état typically uses the extant government's power to assume political control of a country. In Coup d'État: A Practical Handbook,[page needed] military historian Edward Luttwak states that a coup "consists of the infiltration of a small, but critical, segment of the state apparatus, which is then used to displace the government from its control of the remainder". The armed forces, whether military or paramilitary, can be a defining factor of a coup d'état.