Publications and Research
Document Type
Book Chapter or Section
Publication Date
5-2026
Abstract
This essay argues that Trump’s triumph in the 2024 presidential contest represents the consolidation of an oligarchical authoritarian project, backed by a multi-class and (surprisingly, for some) multi-racial electorate. It brought intensified state and freelance attacks on immigrants, labor unions, women, LGBTQ+ people, journalists, civil servants, assorted “political enemies,” and other groups that the MAGA movement targets. It is institutionalizing authoritarian governance structures in ways that will be exceedingly difficult to undo. The paper first addresses the experience of growing up in the shadow of fascism. It analyzes various sectors that supported Trump and the impacts of inflation, incumbency, economic precarity, and “cultural issues” in the electoral outcome. It questions both the mainstream “middle-class narrative” that is a staple of US political discourse and the character of the déclassé “working class” often viewed as Trump and MAGA’s key constituency. “Fascist” as a descriptor, analytical category, or heuristic tool remains important and useful. In today’s USA, however, where historical amnesia is more salient than historical fascism, I cannot help but wonder about the communicative usefulness of the F-word.
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Comments
The entire book, Backlash: The Global Rise of the Radical Right, is available open-access: https://www.plutobooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/9780745352015.pdf