Obviously, this doesn’t apply to military coups, which are very evident when happening, but there’s a reason why most authoritarian regimes today don’t start with a coup: it’s much easier to get a firm hold of power by starting inconspicuously and growing from there.
In fact, many authoritarian regimes start growing years before the people on top of them reach power, with little incremental measures and laws to allow external influences to control politics, to curb legitimate citizen dissent, and to give more power and discretionality to the police and the armed forces. You might be living in one of those right now.
amhrancas 