Trumping Democracy: From Reagan to the Alt-Right

Routledge Studies in Fascism and the Far Right

by Chip Berlet (Editor)

Since 2014, over 80 people have been killed in the United States of America by Right-wing terrorists. In 2016 Donald Trump was elected President of the United States and received substantial support from White nationalists. This book explains the increase in violent White nationalism and Trump’s ascendancy in the context of the backlash against the presidency of Barack Obama. It demonstrates how there is a dynamic relationship between the Republican Party, various Right-wing populist movements, and the Right. Far Right social movements, political campaigns and the online presence of the so-called ‘alt-Right’ are all discussed. The book argues that unfair hierarchies of race, gender, and class are not aberrational tremors in America, but the fracturing bedrock of a nation in which being White, male, Christian, or straight no longer ensures a stable floor for power, status, or privilege. This is vital reading for students, researchers, and activists interested in American politics and the dangers of Right-wing movements and political parties.

Genres: Politics, American History

254 pages, Paperback

Published November 29, 2019

About the author

American investigative journalist and photojournalist activist specializing in the study of right-wing movements in the United States, particularly the religious right, white supremacists, homophobic groups, and paramilitary organizations.

He also studies the spread of conspiracy theories in the media and on the Internet, and political cults on both the right and left of the political spectrum.

Reviews

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty good overview of the growth of the reactionary right over the past forty years. Berlet and his contributors do a good job of showing that it is a coalition of movements responding to different grievances and desired outcomes. Some thought is given in some of the writings on how to organize against them with that context in mind.