A HOUSE DIVIDED: DONALD TRUMP AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF AMERICAN POLITICS

Abstract

Taking as its methodological principle the requirement to articulate long-term trends and conjunctural determinants as key to the analysis of political change, this article reviews the literature on political polarization in American society and reconstructs the ascension process of the conservative movement, as essential elements for the interpretation of the Trump phenomenon. It shows, however, that the latter is only understandable by integrating into the analysis the impact of the 2008 financial crisis, the election of Barack Obama - the first black president in US history - and the consequent outbreak of the Tea Party, a reactionary movement that had a strong destabilizing effect on the Republican Party, paving the way for the New York tycoon’s overwhelming rush.

Keywords

• donald trump
• polarization
• republican party
• conservative movement