“For over four decades, Chip Berlet has tirelessly exposed the reactionary forces that threaten our democratic foundations. With this book he assembles prescient contributions from a diverse array of scholar-activists committed to confronting anti-democratic threats both within and outside of political parties. The authors lay bare the roots of current political challenges; and offer progressive paths forward. Anyone seeking astute analysis of the forces that drive right-wing populism in the 21st century should look no further than this volume.” Professor David Cunningham, Author of Klansville, USA: The Rise and Fall of the Civil Rights-Era Ku Klux Klan “This book will help you to understand how authentic movements harmonize individual freedom and aspirations with community ones. Communities raise up authentic leaders rather than leaders raising themselves up above their communities because of their empire credentials. Movements for liberation start with a common vision that the collective agrees to struggle and risk together to achieve.” Ruby Sales, Civil Rights and Human Rights Activist, founder, Spirit House Project “We can build a world based on friendship or fear. The authors in this volume document what happens when political strategists choose to mobilize our fears and unilateralismthatareelementsofde-civilization.” ProfessorMohammadJafarMahallati,PresidentialScholarinIslamicStudiesand Chair in Middle East and North African Studies at Oberlin College “Ifyouwanttoknowaboutright-wingpopulismyoushouldreadChipBerlet.” Professor Noam Chomsky, Emeritus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Linguistics department, University of Arizona in Tucson. Author of Global Discontents: Conversations on the Rising Threats to Democracy “Chip Berlet continues to courageously and brilliantly expose the dangers of white supremacy and Christian nationalism. This book is a fascinating and indispensable roadmapoftheUSpoliticalright…arrivingjustintime!” Penny Rosenwasser, PhD. Founding Board Member: Jewish Voice for Peace. Author of Hope into practice: Jewish women choosing justice despite our fears “For scholars seeking a better understand events which led to the Trump Presidency, thisisamustread.Forinterestedreaders,shockedbytheriseoftheAmericanright,this isthehistoryyouneed.ForAmericanswhogenuinelydesireforourcountrytoliveup toidealsofourConstitution-ideasofjusticeandequality—thisiswhereyoustart.” ProfessorAngeliaWilson,UniversityofManchester,England;ChairofthePolitical Studies Association of the United Kingdom. Author of The Politics of Intersectionality: Politics, Policy, and Power TRUMPING DEMOCRACY Since 2014, over 80 people have been killed in the United States of America by Right-wing terrorists. In 2016 Donald Trump was elected President of the United States and received substantial support from White nationalists. This book explains the increase in violent White nationalism and Trump’s ascendancy in the context of the backlash against the presidency of Barack Obama. ItdemonstrateshowthereisadynamicrelationshipbetweentheRepublicanParty, various Right-wing populist movements, and the Right. Far Right social move- ments, political campaigns and the online presence of the so-called ‘Alt-Right’ are all discussed. The book argues that unfair hierarchies of race, gender, and class are not aberrational tremors in America, but the fracturing bedrock of a nation in which being White, male, Christian, or straight no longer ensures a stable floor for power, status, or privilege. This is vital reading for students, researchers, and activists interested in American politics and the dangers of Right-wing movements and political parties. John Foster “Chip” Berlet is an American investigative journalist, research ana- lyst, photojournalist, scholar, and activist specializing in the study of Right-wing movements in the United States. ROUTLEDGE STUDIES IN FASCISM AND THE FAR RIGHT Series editors: Nigel Copsey, Teesside University, and Graham Macklin, Center for Research on Extremism (C-REX), University of Oslo. Thisnewbookseriesfocusesuponfascist,farrightandright-wingpoliticsprimarily within a historical context but also drawing on insights from other disciplinary perspectives. Its scope also includes radical-right populism, cultural manifestations of the far right and points of convergence and exchange with the mainstream and traditional right. Titles include: The Far Right and the Environment Politics, Discourse and Communication Edited by Bernhard Forchtner Vigilantism against Migrant and Minorities Edited by Tore Bjørgo and Miroslav Mareš Trumping Democracy From Reagan to the Alt-Right Edited by Chip Berlet A.K. Chesterton and the Evolution of Britain’s Extreme Right, 1933-1973 Luke LeCras Cumulative Extremism A Comparative Historical Analysis Alexander J. Carter CasaPound Italia Contemporary extreme-right politics Caterina Froio, Pietro Castelli Gattinara, Giorgia Bulli and Matteo Albanese The International Alt-Right Fascism for the 21st Century? Patrik Hermansson, David Lawrence, Joe Mulhall and Simon Murdoch For more information about this series, please visit: https://www.routledge.com/ Routledge-Studies-in-Fascism-and-the-Far-Right/book-series/FFR TRUMPING DEMOCRACY From Reagan to the Alt-Right Edited by Chip Berlet Firstpublished2020 byRoutledge 2ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,OxonOX144RN andbyRoutledge 52VanderbiltAvenue,NewYork,NY10017 RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylor&FrancisGroup,aninformabusiness ©2020selectionandeditorialmatter,ChipBerlet;individualchapters,the contributors TherightofChipBerlettobeidentifiedastheauthoroftheeditorialmaterial, andoftheauthorsfortheirindividualchapters,hasbeenassertedinaccordance withsections77and78oftheCopyright,DesignsandPatentsAct1988. Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedorreproducedor utilisedinanyformorbyanyelectronic,mechanical,orothermeans,now knownorhereafterinvented,includingphotocopyingandrecording,orinany informationstorageorretrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthe publishers. Trademarknotice:Productorcorporatenamesmaybetrademarksorregistered trademarks,andareusedonlyforidentificationandexplanationwithoutintentto infringe. Visithttps://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4493693 BritishLibraryCataloguing-in-PublicationData AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Acatalogrecordhasbeenrequestedforthisbook ISBN:978-1-138-21248-0(hbk) ISBN:978-1-138-21249-7(pbk) ISBN:978-1-315-43841-2(ebk) TypesetinBembo byTaylor&FrancisBooks For Jean V. Hardisty, PhD 1945–2015 Scholar, activist, visionary Jean V. Hardisty was a gentle yet fierce academic who anticipated many of the political, economic, and cultural shifts the country has endured over the past several decades. Jean’s activism included national leadership roles in struggles for the rights of LGBTQ peoples, racial justice initiatives, civil liberties, and basic human rights for everyone. Jean V. Hardisty’s home page https://jeanhardisty.com/booksandessays.html Jean V. Hardisty’s research page at the Wellesley College Centers for Women https://www.wcwonline.org/153-jean-v-hardisty Tributes to Jean V. Hardisty https://www.politicalresearch.org/a-tribute- to-jean-v-hardisty/ CONTENTS Foreword xii Preface xiv Contributors xviii How this book is arranged xxv Definitions, explanations, resources, and acknowledgments xxvi INTERLUDE A What is democracy? 1 Chip Berlet Introduction: The roots of reaction 3 Chip Berlet 1 Theocracy and White supremacy: Behind the Culture War to restore traditional values 24 Chip Berlet and Margaret Quigley 2 Swastikas in cyberspace: Ultra-Right White supremacy and antisemitism online 49 Chip Berlet and Carol Mason 3 The European New Right and US politics 54 Margaret Quigley 4 Militia nation 61 Chip Berlet and Matthew N. Lyons