Why do generals attempting to coup always storm the palace? What happens next? Why do ordinary soldiers follow them? Are they in on the plot?
In: Economics
Coups are the ultimate example of how “might makes right”. Power is always taken or given by the party that can project the most physical power.
Putin is in power because he figured out how to project strength even if that strength is largely a paper tiger. I’m sure he did his fair share of assassinations, too.
In the US the power is supposedly still with the people so elections happen where they give the power temporarily to this person or party. Part of the purpose of the 2nd amendment is if the government ever becomes tyrannical again, the people would still have the means to overthrow it. That logic is a bit harder to hold in the 21st century, but that was as the original intent.
If you can physically force the seat of government to do your bidding, you become the de facto government. That’s why Jan 6 was so surprising/upsetting — we hadn’t seen that kind of violent effort to overthrow American government since the Civil War. Americans usually only support coups in other countries
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