regime change

Widely believed to be coined by U.S. President Bill Clinton and popularized by his Presidential successor George W. Bush in reference to the regime of Saddam Hussein. Use of the term dates back to 1925.

regime change (countable and uncountable, plural regime changes)

1. The overthrow of a government that is considered an illegitimate regime by means of external force (especially military might), and its replacement with a new government according to the concept of political legitimacy promoted by that force, as was done in World War II to Italy, Germany, and Japan.

• (in American strategic language): rollback

• containment
• détente