Populism Versus (Neo)Liberalism in the Age of Trump

Session Submission Type: Created Panel

Session Description

Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign was not the sui generis appearance of a novel political perspective. Instead, it brought to the fore a series of tensions in post-WWII American political thought. Trump’s populist appeal intensified doubts about national identity, undermined pretensions to cosmopolitanism, challenged assumptions about the global political order, and exploited tensions within the conservative movement that he aimed to lead. This panel discloses the cobbling-together of this populist response to these tensions by exploring the intellectual roots of its essential anti-establishmentarian features. Panelists consider the intellectual underpinnings of the alt-right, debates within conservatism over the meaning of immigration, popular disenchantment with neoliberalism, and emergent views of national identity within the global community. By situating the origins of Trump’s popular power within this broader framework of political thought, scholars can better understand not only the pathway that led to his unprecedented 2016 election, but the potential for its continuance into the future.

Sub Unit

• DIVISION 56: American Political Thought

Individual Presentations

• Back to the Future: The Death of Neoliberalism and the Return of Politics - Zachariah Wheeler, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

• Illiberalism in Conservative Thought: Immigration and Nationhood - Savannah Eccles Johnston, Claremont Graduate University

• The Metapolitics of Illiberalism: The Alt-Right and Constitutional Decay - Christopher J. Putney, The Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY)

• What Makes America Great? Trump, National Identity, and U.S. Foreign Policy - Hilde Eliassen Restad, Bjorknes University College

Chair

• Prithviraj Datta Franklin and Marshall College

Discussants

• Andrea Wagner MacEwan University

• Daniel P. Klinghard