Earlier this week, a group of 124 retired admirals and generals — calling themselves “Flag Officers 4 America” — published an open letter that questioned the legitimacy of the presidential election and criticized President Biden and the Democratic Party. It’s tempting to dismiss the signatories as a tiny percentage of […] Read more »
Why Americans’ support for democratic values may not protect democracy in practice
There has been widespread concern about the potential for democratic decline in the United States in the wake of the contested 2020 presidential election. Using new polling data, we find that 1) the belief that there was fraud in the 2020 election is associated with modestly lower support among Americans […] Read more »
In explaining the rise of populism, it’s not economic anxiety vs. identity politics – it’s both
Deindustrialization has decimated the blue-collar workforce in the US. … Our research examines the effects of deindustrialization on electoral politics. Specifically, we explore how deindustrialization affected voting in three US presidential elections (2008-2016), using county-level data which captures localized manufacturing job losses. Our argument is that responses to what we […] Read more »
Should Biden Emphasize Race or Class or Both or None of the Above?
Should the Democratic Party focus on race or class when trying to build support for new initiatives and — perhaps equally important — when seeking to achieve a durable Election Day majority? The publication on April 26 of a scholarly paper, “Racial Equality Frames and Public Policy Support,” has stirred […] Read more »
The Gender Backlash in the Vote for Brexit
Increasing gender equality and economic competition between men and women represent some of the largest changes to society. These profound cultural changes are argued to be an aspect of the cultural backlash arguments for populism, alongside concerns about immigration and the economy. We argue that men who perceive discrimination against […] Read more »
Why Trump Is Still Their Guy
His exile in Mar-a-Lago notwithstanding, Donald Trump’s authority over the Republican Party remains vast. You can see it in Republican reluctance to back a bipartisan inquiry into the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, in the widespread denunciation of party members who refused to overturn election results and who voted for Trump’s […] Read more »