SMOKERS’ CORNER: THE SELF-COUP

There’s an interesting term in political science called ‘self-coup.’ A self-coup is when an elected president or prime minister tries to retain or expand their power through unconstitutional/ extra-constitutional means and by instigating their supporters to create chaos in the streets.

They cultivate support in civil society and in state institutions and then use this support to enact a self-coup. Supporters are encouraged to adopt what is called ‘incivism’. Simply put, incivism refers...