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AR's avatar

I'm not sure I follow why the January 6th violence is categorically different. Is the evidence the similarity to the examples of political elite violence (or maybe the absence of cultural properties related to CPP)? Will you explain that link a little more?

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Michael A Alexander's avatar

There is no referent link. I don't know exactly what you are talking about here.

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AR's avatar

The article sub-title is that the "January 6 violence is categorically different and a more serious threat than riots."

Then, you bring up BLM violence as correlated to CPP. The only other categorical difference I see mentioned is political elite violence.

If those categorizations are not related to the sub-title, then why is the Jan 6 violence categorically different and more serious?

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Michael A Alexander's avatar

Ok. The Jan 6 unrest was related to Trump's claim that he won the election. This is intra-elite conflict, and falls into the secular cycle category of violence. This type of unrest won't recede with the waning of the CPP.

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AR's avatar

That was my question, yes. However, why is that intra-elite conflict? That is the link I am missing. I understand that there is the obvious implication that a politician is involved and trying to gain a seat, but the people there protesting could be motivated by cultural forces just like BLM. That is, couldn’t it be true that Trump could have handily lost the election, and those same people showed up because they were pissed off?

Just to counter my own question, because I’m not making any particular argument, I could see the answer being: any political elite violence always has a larger decay function than a strictly cultural one, even if the former is also cultural.

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Michael A Alexander's avatar

Had Trump conceded, and riots broke out in protest, then it would indeed be an example of garden-variety political unrest (there are lots of examples of election riots in the SPI database.)

And no, it is not a politician trying to gain a seat. Trump and Biden were contending for the position of President. Under our Constitution, the President is an elected, term-limited, constitutional monarch. Jan 6 corresponds to analogous contests about who should rule such Norman Invasion. Wars of the Roses, English Civil War, Glorious Revolution, American Revolution and US Civil War.

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AR's avatar

Which category would you lump the recent uptick in swatting of politicians?

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AR's avatar

I see, I think that is the link I was missing. Thanks!

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Michael A Alexander's avatar

I meant categorically different from BLM, it is political elite violence.

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Mike Hind's avatar

Hey Mike, I'll have to read this a couple of times more, to be confident that I've followed the threads properly. Seems interesting and necessary to grasp, interrogate etc.

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Michael A Alexander's avatar

Thanks! I had a devil of a time with it trying to get the threads together to make the point I wanted to. Love to discuss it.

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Mike Hind's avatar

I'll have to understand it before I have any intelligent questions!

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