Usurpation

Usurpation is the act of taking power, office, or rights by force, deceit, or other illegitimate means, without a rightful claim or the consent of the established legal order. It can occur in political, military, religious, or administrative contexts when someone asserts sovereignty or leadership in violation of constitutional rules or recognized succession. The term derives from Latin usurpare, to seize for oneself, and has been used in legal and political discourse for centuries to describe unlawful appropriation of authority.

In legal and political theory, usurpation is distinguished from legitimate succession, revolution, or conquest, in that it involves the improper pursuit or exercise of authority rather than a recognized transfer or consent of the governed. Methods include seizing control of institutions, coercion or force, manipulation of laws or constitutions, forged credentials, or rapid changes in leadership that circumvent established procedures. The act can be brief or prolonged and may be contested in courts, legislatures, or by popular resistance.

Consequences vary by system but often include illegitimacy in the eyes of the governed, resistance, civil conflict, impeachment or removal, and non-recognition by other states or authorities. In history, Caesar's accumulation of dictatorial power in the late Roman Republic is cited as a classic example of political usurpation, as is the overthrow of existing authority by a coup in other eras. Religious or ecclesiastical usurpations involve claims to spiritual primacy without lawful right.