Last Wednesday an armed mob attacked and occupied the U.S. Capitol Building where both houses of Congress and Vice-President Mike Pence were in the process of certifying the presidential election results. The insurrection was actively encouraged by President Trump and his allies and has lead to House Democrats introducing a single article of impeachment accusing the President of “inciting violence against the government of the United States.” After losing the presidency, the House, and the Senate, Trump will become the first President to be impeached twice.

I talk about these unprecedented events with Abbey Steele, who is an associate professor at the political science department at the University of Amsterdam. Abbey studies civil wars, state building and governance, and political violence. She is the author of Democracy and Displacement in Colombia’s Civil War (Cornell University Press, 2017).

Abbey and I discuss last Wednesday’s events. Was it a coup, an insurrection, or what? Does it actually matter how we define it? Abbey also talks about the dangers of white supremacy groups, and the prospects of democracy in America.

Background readings:

- Was the U.S. Capitol riot really a coup? Here’s why definitions matter https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/01/09/was-us-capitol-riot-really-coup-heres-why-definitions-matter/

- A dark day https://www.mischiefsoffaction.com/post/a-dark-day

- This Is a Coup. Why Were Experts So Reluctant to See It Coming? https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/01/06/coup-america-capitol-electoral-college-2020-election/

- Anti-democratic you-know-what happens. Is it a coup? https://www.mischiefsoffaction.com/post/anti-democratic-happens-is-it-a-coup

Music: Dexter Britain (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0), www.dexterbritain.com