Trumpism as the New Normal? Understanding It Means Defeating It

In the aftermath of the US presidential election, it is more vital than ever to understand the reasons for Donald Trump’s victory. The fact that the far-right can still win elections after governing and after publicly attacking democratic institutions, as was the case during the January 2021 Capitol revolt, is alarming.

Therefore, we need to understand the factors that drove D. Trump’s electoral support, even among electorates that traditionally voted for Democrats. In order to explain this support, it is necessary to examine a number of factors that include the economic and social environment, American society’s values and the battle over the rights of women, LGBTI+ individuals, migrants, ethnic, religious, and other minorities, as well as the US foreign policy and recent natural disasters.

At the same time, the election of Donald Trump to a second term in the White House will surely have a significant impact on the situation both at the national and international levels, especially during these unpredictable and tense times. Trump’s policies on the economy, immigration, the structure and functioning of institutions such as the US Supreme Court, the abortion right, the climate emergency, as well as US-China and US-Russia relations, the war in Ukraine, the genocide in Gaza, and the threat of a generalised war in the Middle East, will profoundly alter American society and have a determining impact on the international situation. Furthermore, the subject of US-EU relations and their dynamics, particularly whether, how, and to what end the EU could pursue and attain its strategic autonomy vis-à-vis the US, will inevitably be brought up again during the next Trump term.

Understanding the election outcomes and their anticipated impact on the US and the world is crucial in this regard, not just for scholarly purposes but also—and perhaps most importantly—as a necessary step in the social and political fight against Trumpism and the far-right globally.

transform! europe network will host on Wednesday, December 11th at 18.00 CET/12.00 EST a webinar titled: Trumpism as the New Normal? Understanding It Means Defeating It.

Speakers:

Klaus Dörre, Professor of Labour, Industrial and Economic Sociology, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany
Nancy Fraser, Professor of Philosophy and Politics, The New School, New York, USA
David Harvey, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Geography, Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY), Director of Research, Center for Place, Culture and Politics, New York, USA
Stefan Liebich, Executive Director, New York Office of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, New York, USA
Yeva Nersisyan, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Economics, Franklin and Marshall College, Pennsylvania, USA
Anastasia Romanou, Physical Research Scientist, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Adjunct Professor of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York, USA