In the summer of 2020, US President Donald Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807 to curb the mostly nonviolent Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests. Less than a year later, he would encourage a mob of angry protesters to attempt to violently seize control of the US government and disrupt the peaceful transition of power. One movement sought to radically reform structural inequality. The other sought to enshrine it. One was largely peaceful. The other was unabashedly aggressive. Does it make sense to refer to both of these movements as insurrections? And how does the term change contingent on who is using it and to what end? This issue aims to theorize, contextualize, and envision the concept of insurrection in contemporary political life. Today insurrections are everywhere, but are these social disruptions real efforts towards systemic change or are they nothing more than performance? And what of current insurrectionist movements that seek not to overthrow political authority but, rather, reinforce and fortify it? Insurrection today may be revolting, but is it revolutionary?

Focus Editors: Jeffrey R. Di Leo and Sophia A. McClennen

Deadline for submissions: December 15, 2025. Learn more about the submissions process.