The Trump Self-Coup Attempt: Comparisons and Civil–Military Relations
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Authors
Pion-Berlin, David
Bruneau, Thomas
Goetze, Richard B. Jr.
Subjects
self-coup
coup d’état
military
President Trump
civil–military relations
coup d’état
military
President Trump
civil–military relations
Advisors
Date of Issue
2022
Date
2022
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Language
Abstract
The storming of the US Capitol building in January 2021 was a presidential attempt at a self-coup. To make the case, this article reviews elements of the Capitol assault and the events leading up to it, in light of the key conceptual components of a self-coup, and how those compare to attributes of other kinds of attacks on governments. The Trump self-coup will then be compared and contrasted empirically to other self-coups perpetrated by leaders. It is found that what separates successful self-coups from those that fail is whether the military backs the undertaking. Thus, a section is included on US military behaviour in response to Trump’s attempts to gain military adherence for his political actions.
Type
Article
Description
17 USC 105 interim-entered record; under temporary embargo.
Series/Report No
Department
National Security Affairs (NSA)
Organization
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
U.S. Government affiliation is unstated in article text.
Format
18 p.
Citation
Pion-Berlin, David, Thomas Bruneau, and Richard B. Goetze. "The Trump Self-Coup Attempt: Comparisons and Civil–Military Relations." Government and Opposition (2022): 1-18.