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Insurrection: What the January 6 Assault on the Capitol Reveals about America and Democracy
A profound analysis of the factors underlying the 2021 invasion of the US Capitol, arriving as the nation looks ahead to another tumultuous presidential election in 2024.
Insurrection offers a profound and incisive analysis of the underlying factors that culminated in the assault on Washington, DC’s Capitol Building on that fateful January 6th, 2021. Going far beyond mere journalistic accounts, the book delves into structural trends within the United States, providing a broader and deeper context for comprehending the magnitude of the uprising. It explores the crisis of democracy, escalating violence, widening inequality, and the prominence of conspiratorial discourse within American politics. By examining both long-term issues as well as the tumultuous events of 2020, including the pandemic, policing challenges, and the fiercely contested presidential election, this book uncovers the catalysts behind conspiracy theories and the politics of outrage. This compelling narrative is essential reading for all those interested in the contemporary face of the United States.
Insurrection offers a profound and incisive analysis of the underlying factors that culminated in the assault on Washington, DC’s Capitol Building on that fateful January 6th, 2021. Going far beyond mere journalistic accounts, the book delves into structural trends within the United States, providing a broader and deeper context for comprehending the magnitude of the uprising. It explores the crisis of democracy, escalating violence, widening inequality, and the prominence of conspiratorial discourse within American politics. By examining both long-term issues as well as the tumultuous events of 2020, including the pandemic, policing challenges, and the fiercely contested presidential election, this book uncovers the catalysts behind conspiracy theories and the politics of outrage. This compelling narrative is essential reading for all those interested in the contemporary face of the United States.
- GenresPolitics
224 pages, Paperback
Published March 14, 2024
1 person is currently reading
40 people want to read
About the author
John Rennie Short
52 books3 followersProf. John Rennie Short is the Professor of Public Policy in the Department of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), USA.
He received an MA in Geography from the University of Aberdeen in 1973 and a PhD in 1977 from the University of Bristol.
He has been the Professor of Public Policy at UMBC since 2005, having previously held positions at the University of Bristol, the University of Reading and Syracuse University.
He currently writes for a number of audiences, including The Conversation.
He received an MA in Geography from the University of Aberdeen in 1973 and a PhD in 1977 from the University of Bristol.
He has been the Professor of Public Policy at UMBC since 2005, having previously held positions at the University of Bristol, the University of Reading and Syracuse University.
He currently writes for a number of audiences, including The Conversation.
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January 4, 2025
On Jan. 6, 2021, a horde of armed thugs incited by Donald Trump tried to stop Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election. As the 4th anniversary of the Capitol Assault approaches and some of the looniest conspiracy theorists prepare to crawl back into the executive branch, brace yourself for a thick cloud of Stalinist revisionism.
In the MAGA imagination, rioters assaulting police officers and chanting, “Hang Mike Pence” have already been transformed into tourists and freedom fighters. Trump has promised to complete their beatification by issuing pardons for the so-called Jan. 6 political prisoners (story).
This week, I had the sobering experience of reading a book called “Insurrection: What the January 6 Assault on the Capitol Reveals about America and Democracy.” Author John Rennie Short provides a clear-eyed description of the Jan. 6 riot, but his real purpose is to understand its precedents, its causes and its implications for the rest of the 21st century.
While praising the House Select Committee Report on Jan. 6, Short complains that “the report’s exclusive focus on the role of Donald Trump ignored a deeper background of growing polarization, mounting distrust of government, increasing inequality, and how conspiracy theories had entered the mainstream.”
Short tries to address the report’s deficiency by recognizing that what happened that day was...
To read the rest of this review, go to the latest issue of The Washington Post's free Book Club newsletter:
https://s2.washingtonpost.com/camp-rw...
In the MAGA imagination, rioters assaulting police officers and chanting, “Hang Mike Pence” have already been transformed into tourists and freedom fighters. Trump has promised to complete their beatification by issuing pardons for the so-called Jan. 6 political prisoners (story).
This week, I had the sobering experience of reading a book called “Insurrection: What the January 6 Assault on the Capitol Reveals about America and Democracy.” Author John Rennie Short provides a clear-eyed description of the Jan. 6 riot, but his real purpose is to understand its precedents, its causes and its implications for the rest of the 21st century.
While praising the House Select Committee Report on Jan. 6, Short complains that “the report’s exclusive focus on the role of Donald Trump ignored a deeper background of growing polarization, mounting distrust of government, increasing inequality, and how conspiracy theories had entered the mainstream.”
Short tries to address the report’s deficiency by recognizing that what happened that day was...
To read the rest of this review, go to the latest issue of The Washington Post's free Book Club newsletter:
https://s2.washingtonpost.com/camp-rw...
Displaying 1 of 1 review