Editorial: Putsch Inc.
Modern coups unfold through laws, courts, and corporations, reshaping power without the spectacle of force.
Weekly
Putsch Inc.
Coups are back—in headlines, in courtrooms, and in the minds of anxious democrats and eager autocrats alike. From failed pensioner plots in Germany to digital subversions in the U.S. and legal regime shifts in Poland, the line between revolt and restoration blurs. This series explores the anatomy of the modern putsch—its rituals, justifications, and the uneasy question that lingers: is the real coup the one we fear, or the one already underway?
Editorial: Putsch Inc.
Modern coups unfold through laws, courts, and corporations, reshaping power without the spectacle of force.
DOGE: Synthesis of the American Putsch
From meme to government takeover, the United States synthesised the Deep State and the January 6 coup scare into DOGE.
Why Markets Value Stability over Democracy
From Chile to Thailand, markets react less to a democracy’s collapse than to what takes its place.
Putsching with Style
Latin America has turned coups into ritualised events.
Power Through Moral Posturing
By way of school strikes and soup-splattered paintings, climate activists have quietly pulled off a coup.
Who’s Pulling the Strings?
In today’s democracies, no one ever just loses anymore—there’s always a coup, a conspiracy, or a foreign hand to blame.
Digital Coups: Inside the Global Disinformation Industry
Forget tanks and guns—today, coups are executed with deepfakes, bots, and viral lies.
Germany’s Rentnerputsch: A Case Study
In shielding democracy from fringe threats, the state risks corroding it through fear, spectacle and legal overreach.
Tusk’s Legal Coup Redefines Regime Change
The government crosses one red line after another, turning Poland into a banana republic.
The Arab Spring: How Revolutions Fail
The Arab Spring revolutions teach us something about how revolutions break out, and how they might fail to yield lasting change.
Preventing a Coup, Chinese-style
Beijing draws on cultural heritage, legal innovation, and digital precision to ensure continuity and stability.
The Therapeutic Use of the Putsch
Mass protests by Europe’s youth may serve only as a temporary outlet for their frustrations, without being the solution.