Industrial Authoritarianism in the United States

• In Event: 40420 - Section on Political Sociology Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 11: The Politics of Authoritarianism 2

Abstract

This presentation makes a connection between the rise of authoritarianism in the United States and the Trump administration's ongoing efforts to indirectly subsidize manufacturing industries, such as the new tariff policy. Applying the framework of my forthcoming book, Industrial Islamism, to the case of the United States, I argue that the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement is mimicking the industrial strategy of its authoritarian counterparts in the semi-periphery in order to expand and consolidate its support base.

The factors that have strengthened the Islamist movement in industrializing countries like Turkey broadly apply to the MAGA case in the United States as well. Compared to 2016, Republicans performed better in the 2024 elections in states where there are relatively big number of non-monopoly manufacturing capitals: The greater the role of non-monopoly industrialists in the domestic economy, the stronger the MAGA-like movements in domestic politics.

The presentation will focus on Ohio's industrial transformation as an illustrative example of this relationship. In 2023, Ohio was the third largest manufacturer in the United States after Texas and California. Consistent with the overall trend since 2009, manufacturing production has increased 61 percent since 2020. Manufacturing employment has also increased by 13 percent between 2010 and 2022. Vivek Ramaswamy recently announced his candidacy for Governor of Ohio. He promises to make the state the pioneer of a “second industrial revolution” in the United States. Once a center of the labor movement and then a “swing state”," Ohio is now a stronghold of the MAGA movement.

Along with data from the BEA, BLS, and Census Bureau, the narratives of local MAGA politicians and local non-monopoly manufacturers help connect this factor to the class dynamics behind the growing popularity of the MAGA movement in the United States.

Author

• Utku Balaban, Xavier University