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It was frightening and appalling to see protestors succeed in storming the Capitol building yesterday-- in doing this, they used a tactic of coup-plotters, who frequently seek to capture symbolic seats of political power, such as the presidential palace or legislature 1/x
But for those still asking if this was a coup attempt--those not too weary of definitional debates--a few thoughts on why that term still doesn't fit are in this thread 2/x
The aim, in capturing symbolic targets, is to convince members of the military, who have the power to stop a coup, that it has, in fact, already succeeded, and that opposition is futile. This is what @naunihalpublic calls making the coup "a fact"
https://www.amazon.com/Seizing-Power-Strategic-Logic-Military/dp/1421422565 3/x
https://www.amazon.com/Seizing-Power-Strategic-Logic-Military/dp/1421422565 3/x
If you want to know more about how coups unfold, this excerpt my from @CornellPress book, How to Prevent Coups, pp. 15-16, describes them: 4/x
But at no point did yesterday's protestors attempt to actually seize control of the levers of state power-- nor did anyone watching think these goons were now running the government. 5/x
There is nothing to suggest either Pres. Trump or his supporters had a real plan to translate this protest into a way for him to remain in office. To make a plausible coup attempt, there would need to have been some a serious effort to recruit *within the state apparatus.* 6/x
That's why so many of us who study coups continue to say this wasn't one. As I've said elsewhere, I think the distinction matters because the tactics you use to defeat coups are different from those needed to stop other anti-democratic actions 7/x https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/11/11/coup-trump-election-concede-military/
I'm not trying police the language of those finding it useful to use the term 'coup' to coordinate opposition right now, but if you are interested in understanding what is happening & preventing it from happening again, then it's worth listening to the multiple... 8/x
coup experts, including @naunihalpublic, @prof_powell, @HarknessKristen, & myself telling you that we know what a coup is, and this is not one. /fin
