Donald Trump has variously been described as an authoritarian, a fascist or a buffoon, but first and foremost he is a right-wing populist connected to an old and specifically American tradition of populism dating back to the 19th century. American populists weave a (often false) narrative of the common people fighting back against perceived or real corruption among the nation’s elite. The tradition is heavily intertwined with American democracy itself.
This seminar will examine the populist tradition in US politics from the Age of Jackson in the 1820s via the People’s Party of the 1890s and the Great Depression of the 1930s all the way to the present day. We will examine definitions and meanings of populism in the US, compare left-wing and right-wing populist movements and how the boundaries between the two blur, the impact of these movements on mainstream American political culture and of course the challenge that Donald Trump poses to American democracy and the rule of law. Political satire and cartoons will bring a sense of levity to these often serious topics.