American Populism In The 21^st Century

With Trump’s rise to power in 2016,populism has once again occupies the center of American political stage.The unexpected development ushered in a new surge of research interest on populism.As the most distinctive feature of today’s American politics,populism deserves more in-depth studies.Although scholars find it hard to define populism as a theoretical concept,populist social phenomena do reveal universal patterns in different countries,which is why populism research can be cross-regional and interdisciplinary.Focusing on American populism in the 21^stcentury,this thesis offers a systematic overview of the recent development of populism in the United States after the 2008Financial Crisis.It pores over the current political events in the U.S.with the hope of offering a new perspective on today’s American populism.Chapter 1 provides a brief overview of the populist figures and movements throughout American history,and then it turns to examine the populist movements that emerged in the wake of the Financial Crisis of 2007-2008.Chapter 2 probes into the“Trump phenomenon”by analyzing his populist rhetoric during the 2016 presidential campaign and the neo-liberal policies Trump promoted during his presidency.Chapter 3 investigates the new wave of Black Lives Matter movement in the United States,comparing it to the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s and exploring whether it can be regarded as a left-wing populist movement.Chapter 4 discusses the implications populism has on the American society and politics,and how the U.S.public and foreign policies reflect the current populist sentiment.