Fascism, Populism and American Democracy

Hard right-wing politics is growing in popularity in America, marked by Donald Trump’s success in the 2016 election, and it is worth questioning what this means for the American democratic system. This book seeks to explain the vulnerability of democracies to the appeal of right-wing politics through a contemporary case study of the US, and how democracies are possibly under threat from a conflict between popular attitudes and institutional paralysis. Various forms of American right-wing extremism are examined here, such as the alt-right, the radical right and the Religious right, but their perceived relevance to Trump’s victory is questioned. Even still, this book asks the question: can the far-right prevail under the American way?

Chapter 1 - Introduction Chapter 2 – What Could Go Wrong? Chapter 3 – Why the United States has come under Right-Wing Domination: The Background Chapter 4 – Political Decay Chapter 5 -Trump and The Alt-Right Chapter 6 – Fascism and Populism Chapter 7 – Final Observations

Leonard Weinberg is Foundation Professor Emeritus at the University of Nevada. Over the course of his career he has served as a visiting professor at King’s College, University of London, University of Haifa and as a visiting scholar at the University of Florence, and UCLA. He has also been the recipient of both Fulbright and Guggenheim research awards. Weinberg has been the author or editor of some twenty books, the most recent one being The Role of Terrorism in Twenty-First Warfare (2016) co-authored with Susanne Martin.