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A self-coup, also called an autocoup (from Spanish autogolpe ) or coup from the top, is a form of coup d'état in which a political leader, having come to power through legal means, stays in power illegally through the actions of themselves or their supporters. [1] The leader may dissolve or render powerless the national legislature and unlawfully assume extraordinary powers. Other measures may include annulling the constitution, suspending civil courts, and having the head of government assume dictatorial powers. [2] [3]
From 1946 to the beginning of 2021, an estimated 148 self-coup attempts took place, 110 in autocracies and 38 in democracies. [4]
In political science, the term coup refers to the illegitimate overthrow of a sitting government — usually through violence or the threat of violence. The technical term for attempting to stay in power illegitimately — such as after losing an election — is self-coup or autocoup, sometimes autogolpe
As with the Beer Hall Putsch, a would-be leader tried to take advantage of an already scheduled event (in Hitler's case, Kahr's speech; in Trump's, Congress's tallying of the electoral votes) to create a dramatic moment with himself at the center of attention, calling for bold action to upend the political order. Unlike Hitler's coup attempt, Trump already held the top of the office, so he was attempting to hold onto power, not seize it (the precise term for Trump's intended action is a 'self-coup' or 'autogolpe'). Thus, Trump was able to plan for the event well in advance and with much greater control, including developing the legal arguments that could be used to justify rejecting the election's results.
What the United States went through on January 6th was an attempt at a self-coup, where Trump would use force to stay as head of state even if abandoning democratic practices in the U.S. Some advised Trump to declare martial law to create a state of emergency and use that as an excuse to stay in power.
This assault on both Congress's power of the purse and on the US's administrative state is as much of a self-coup as was the spurring of insurrectionists on January 6, 2021.
Verdict: Self coup, in-progress, success still unknown