I know some folks just want to call the insurrection at the US Capitol a coup. Others say it's just academic & perhaps trivial to focus on what to call it. This @monkeycageblog piece by coup expert @naunihalpublic has been helpful for my thinking: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/01/09/was-us-capitol-riot-really-coup-heres-why-definitions-matter/

Some essential clips, including @naunihalpublic's definition of a coup from his @JHUPress book, Seizing Power: https://jhupbooks.press.jhu.edu/title/seizing-power

Why I'm following @naunihalpublic's lead (and WaPo's for that matter) in calling what happened an insurrection: https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2021/politics/trump-insurrection-capitol/?itid=lk_inline_manual_11

Perhaps my favorite part of the piece is when @naunihalpublic offers an analogy to theft -- there are different ways to take someone's money and we respond in different ways (but yes, all three are BAD):

Much as I think Trump deserves blame, he does not stand alone. That is not just true of the insurrection, but of his entire tenure in office. So I'll share this bit from @naunihalpublic's piece, too, because we shouldn't focus only on Trump:

and this is how @naunihalpublic closes it out and I agree.

Thank you, Naunihal, for this important piece.

Read the whole essay here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/01/09/was-us-capitol-riot-really-coup-heres-why-definitions-matter/