Self-coup

Cavalry in the streets of Paris during the French coup of 1851, when the democratically elected President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte seized dictatorial power, and one year later was proclaimed Emperor of the French

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 through illegal means through the actions of themselves and/or their supporters.[1] The leader may dissolve or render powerless the national legislature and unlawfully assume extraordinary powers not granted under normal circumstances. Other measures may include annulling the nation's constitution, suspending civil courts, and having the head of government assume dictatorial powers.[2][3]

Between 1946 and the beginning of 2021, an estimated 148 self-coup attempts took place, 110 in autocracies and 38 in democracies.[4]

  1. ^ Chin, John J; Carter, David B; Wright, Joseph G (2021). "The Varieties of Coups D'état: Introducing the Colpus Dataset". International Studies Quarterly. 65 (4): 1040–1051. doi:10.1093/isq/sqab058. ISSN 0020-8833.
  2. ^ Kaufman, Edy. Uruguay in Transition: From Civilian to Military Rule. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4128-4084-2.
  3. ^ Tufekci, Zeynep (December 7, 2020). "This Must Be Your First". The Atlantic. 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
  4. ^ Nakamura, David (January 5, 2021). "With brazen assault on election, Trump prompts critics to warn of a coup". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 5, 2021.